


Connected Hearts

by aziantearz



Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII (Video Game 1997), Final Fantasy VII Remake (Video Game 2020), Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children
Genre: 100 Themes Challenge, F/M, One Shot Collection
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-15
Updated: 2020-08-28
Packaged: 2021-03-02 18:59:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 21,096
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24191710
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aziantearz/pseuds/aziantearz
Summary: [100 theme collection of Cloud/Tifa unrelated one-shots; OG/ACC/DC/FF7R] In which Cloud and Tifa keep their hearts and thoughts intertwined, reminisce of their shared past, daydream of the distant future and hope to live wholeheartedly during the present.
Relationships: Tifa Lockhart & Cloud Strife, Tifa Lockhart/Cloud Strife
Comments: 14
Kudos: 158





	1. Sacrifice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Cloud gets a surprise visit from the Turks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Final Fantasy VII Remake has re-sparked my burning passion for CloTi and I could not contain my inner fangirl at all the interactions between them, especially in the chapter 14 resolution scene. So here is my attempt at the 100 theme challenge...First time posting here on AO3..so please enjoy!
> 
> Disclaimer: Final Fantasy, characters and everything associated with the Final Fantasy world belong to Square Enix.
> 
> Warnings: Please note that some of the stories will contain spoilers or reference to the original game, Advent Children, Crisis Core, Dirge of Cerberus and Remake.
> 
> Genre: Jealous Cloud

"Where's Tifa?" The fiery redhead and his bald companion with the never ending supply of luxury sunglasses, demanded.

The request for Tifa in particular was odd since the Turks had no reason to poke into Avalanche any longer and especially since the Shinra Power Electric Company was now destroyed.

Cloud just didn't like the fact that the Turks just showed up all of a sudden, forcing their way into Tifa and his home.

He began forcing the two men out of the Seventh Heaven bar, "Tifa isn't here right now, and even if she is, she probably doesn't want to see your sorry faces."

"Whoa there, wait! We told you already, we want no trouble. The Boss just wanted to give this to the lovely lady."

By boss, Reno meant the former Geostigma victim and ex-president of Shinra Power Electric company, Rufus Shinra.

Reno dropped a rectangular box with glossy silver wrapping paper into Cloud's hands. A gold curly ribbon was tied nicely around it to hold a sealed envelope with Tifa's name printed on it in place.

"Apparently sweet little Tifa here has _caught_ Rufus's heart."

With a twirl of his electro-mag rod, Reno let out a soft chuckle, "Heh, I wouldn't blame him, she has a smokin hot body. I saw that picture of her in the short blue dress she wore that one time at Wall Market...I'd probably _fall_ for her too."

Cloud noticed Rude twitch slightly upon hearing Reno's recollection of Tifa in the tight blue dress, but stood firm in the same spot with arms crossed.

"Please see to it that box makes it to Ms. Lockhart as soon as possible." He finally spoke up as he adjusted his slipping sunglasses back in place.

It was no surprise that the beautiful Tifa would catch the affection of many men. Cloud knew Tifa could handle herself to kick ass if she needed to.

Anyone who visited Seventh Heaven knew she held a black belt in Martial arts. They all knew not to step over the boundaries.

For the idiots that would attempt to grope her bottom or wrap their arms tightly around her chest area, Tifa was quick on her feet to throw the drunkards over her shoulder and slam them to the floor with her knee digging into their spine and arms interlocked behind them.

She didn't need a bouncer. She was **_the_** _Bouncer_. She'd send them all whirling out of the bar with her starshowers and dive kicks. Barret's scowl and towering height was also enough to keep most of the men in line.

There were men like Don Corneo, Johnny, Rude, Reno and most other men Cloud didn't worry too much about.

But just hearing how Rufus Shinra in particular had taken a sudden interest in Tifa irked him, especially since Reno reminded him that Rufus was now the most eligible bachelor in Edge ever since he turned a new leaf and started funding for the WRO's restoration efforts.

Cloud glared at the two right-hand henchmen is Rufus Shrina and clutched onto the box tightly, almost crushing it.

Before Cloud could act or inquire about Rufus's intentions with Tifa, Reno was already out the door.

He gave Cloud a nonchalant wave goodbye, "Well, our mission here is complete, let's go Rude. Oh, tell Tifa hello for me, will yah?"

The way Reno whispered _hello_ in that seductive tone made Cloud want to drop everything and pull out his _Nailbat_ to swing it across the bastard's skull.

Maybe in another lifetime when Marlene and Denzel were **_NOT_ ** right around the corner to witness the murder of Reno, the dumbass Turk.

With a wink and obnoxious grin, Reno stepped out of the bar and disappeared into the bustling streets of Edge.

Rude hesitantly shoved a heavy cardstock letter into Cloud's possession before following Reno. Cloud had taken note of Rude's impressive hand-scripture lettering, and the apparent love poem to Tifa.

With a grumble, Cloud threw the two items meant for Tifa at the back of the garage, stashing it along with the hidden pile of other gifts he had been collecting.

He would never admit it to her, but with his connection through the Strife Delivery Service, he would secretly collect and dump all the love letters and gifts any man in the world attempted to send to Tifa.

Cloud did not care if it would have a negative impact on his business.

It was a tiny sacrifice he was willing to make.


	2. Questioning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Marle pays a visit and interrogates Cloud.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Final Fantasy, characters and everything associated with the Final Fantasy world belong to Square Enix.
> 
> Warnings: Please note that some of the stories will contain spoilers or reference to the original game, Advent Children, Dirge of Cerberus, Crisis Core and Remake.
> 
> Genre: Family fluff, slight drama

Marle had surprised them with a visit one hot summer day. The last time he saw her was almost three years ago after the Sector 7 tragedy.

She kept in touch with Tifa over the years, and had long since moved from Sector 7 to the Sector 5 slums where Aerith's foster mother Elmyra lived, to help with the orphans.

While Tifa and Denzel were preparing drinks and snacks in the kitchen, Cloud was left alone to keep Marle entertained, much to his dismay.

He could tell that Marle still didn't approve of him, even after all these years when he had helped and kept Tifa's safe as promised after Meteorfall.

Cloud recalled his first encounter with Marle and the words that she made sure to burn into his thick skull, " _Tifa is the granddaughter I never had. And if you hurt her, I'll take it out of your hide. You hear me?"_

Marle did not hesitate to interrogate Cloud's intention toward Tifa, especially since they were both young opposite-sex adults, single and living under the same roof. There was bound to be some type of between intimacy between them, Marle could tell.

This made him rather uncomfortable, to talk about such intimate details with an elderly who appointed herself as Tifa's guardian.

She had the look of a scornful grandmother-in-law—even though Cloud knew she wasn't really Tifa's grandmother—who was just being protective of the Seventh Heaven Barmaid.

Tifa was a strong fighter and would never allow a man drag her down. Cloud was different, Marle had pointed out, and described him as a " _heartbreaker"._ Marle warned her _grandaughter_ about the _too-good-to-be-true handsome_ boy with mako eyes many times, but Tifa did not take heed of her words of course.

"So when were you gonna tell me you both have a son together?" She demanded an immediate answer, as she began drumming her fingers impatiently on the wooden square table.

Cloud nearly fell from his seat, eyes bulging at the unexpected question. " _S-son_?! Wait, I swear to you we—"

"Sorry it took so long!" Tifa exclaimed happily from the kitchen, interrupting Cloud's reply. "Here's the tea you asked for." Tifa placed a porcelain teacup in front of Marle with a warm smile, settling the tension in the room... _for now_...

Cloud let out a sigh of relief, glad that Tifa was finally back to save him from saying something he might regret.

Denzel walked by a minute later, carrying a tray of finger sandwiches and home-made chocolate chip cookies.

Marle glanced back and forth between Cloud, Tifa and then Denzel, eyes lingering on at the young boy for several minutes in silence.

She narrowed her gaze, took a sip of her teacup and then turned her sharp piercing eyes back at Cloud.

"So, this is _the_ child?"

Cloud bit his bottom lip nervously. It was quite unusual for him to feel so apprehensive like this.

He was an ex-SOLDIER, trained to fight on and never falter. He never cared what other people thought of him. But at this moment, given the situation and his _relationship status_ with Tifa and the family, he wanted to avoid the scourge of Marle.

With trembling fingers, his hands found their way toward Tifa's under the table, and she clasped them back in a tight grip, as if she knew what he was going through, " _Sorry Cloud, you know Marle…_ "

Marle abruptly pushed herself away from the table, causing Tifa and Cloud to jump in place, and pulled Denzel to the side to get a full good look.

She took hold of Denzel's chin, inspecting him from top to bottom, left and right, comparing his features to Cloud's. She glanced over to Tifa for a slight second and then back to the young boy with chestnut wavy hair.

Her face, which was at first stern and full of disapproval, eventually softened to that of adoration.

The elderly lady's smile widened and she began caressing and pinching the boy's cherub face, "Ah, it doesn't matter! _Child_ , come give your Great- _Meemaw_ a hug!"

She opened up her arms wide and pulled Denzel into a tight embrace, before showering him with gifts and kisses as any normal great-grandmother would have.

Tifa and Cloud shrugged, smiling at the sight of Denzel actually giggling in excitement, something they have not heard in a long time. As long as Marle and Denzel were in a good mood, everything else didn't matter.

Cloud would eventually find a way to answer Marle, without cracking under her taunting gaze, and let her know that he was definitely not going anywhere. He would remain by Tifa's side.


	3. Cat

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Wedge’s cat stays for the weekend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer : Final Fantasy, characters and everything associated with the Final Fantasy world belong to Square Enix.
> 
> Warnings : Please note that some of the stories will contain spoilers or reference OG, Advent Children, Dirge of Cerberus, Crisis Core and Remake. Also, some cat hating because some people think cats are evil and that all dogs go to Heaven. I can assure you that I love both types of animals. 
> 
> Genre: Fluff, Jealous over animals, Tifa loves cats and Cloud doesn't

Cloud could not refuse Denzel and Marlene's request. They had practically begged him. Tifa and Barret already agreed, so he was put on the spot about the final decision. 

Either say no and break those poor children’s hearts, or say yes and become their ultimate favorite spiky blonde hero in the whole wide world.

Their doe eyes and puppy pout got him every single time.

So he caved in.

Wedge’s eldest munchkin cat will get to stay for the weekend.

He could have said he was allergic, but Tifa knew him well and would probably give him the stink eye. He did not want that.

Cloud just had to endure two excruciating days.

But of course, as soon as the cat arrived, Cloud was unable to sleep comfortably at night, especially since the cat liked to curl up next to Tifa in bed, and take up Cloud’s entire side.

Cloud ended up sleeping in a makeshift bed in his cold office, alone and miserable.

Worst of all, the cat would hiss every time Cloud got too close to Tifa. It seemed to have a vendetta against him and he had no idea why. Perhaps Sephiroth’s spirit possessed this cat.

He was pretty sure the cat was named after Satan’s spawn _‘Lucifer’_ or the sort. Marlene decided to nickname the cat _“Mr. Fluffikins”._

He couldn’t stand the fact that _Mr. Fluffikins_ took the advantage by curling up on Tifa’s lap, swaying its fluffy tail back and forth adoringly and purring in contempt while getting scratched under the chin at the right spot.

Not surprisingly enough, the 2-faced animal played nicely with Denzel and Marlene, pawing at the catnip they dangled above excitedly. 

Even the big scary man with the machine gun for an arm, Barret, was smitten. It was quite odd seeing Barret with a tiny kitten, as he cooed and babbled at it like a baby.

Cloud crossed his arms and stuck his tongue out at the evil feline, “Good thing you’re only here for the weekend and **_never_** coming back after... _I_ _hope_.”

The cat narrowed its glowing amber eyes at the ex-SOLDIER and Cloud swore he heard the cat answer back in a creepy voice, “ _I’ll make your life a living hell if you don’t back off. Tifa’s meooo-miiiiine_.”

Cloud resisted the urge to cross-slash at it with his Buster Sword. Tifa was against animal violence and the children would hate him for decapitating a poor innocent kitty.

When the cat finally went home to Wedge, not without leaving Cloud with a long scratch on his right eyebrow, he was finally able to approach Tifa without worry. 

With a heavy sigh, and free from the hellcat, he laid his head comfortably on her lap as she stroked his blonde locks lovingly. 

“Hmm...Have you been a _good_ _boy_?” Tifa absentmindedly asked him that night while reading one of her epic fantasy romance novels, something about a refined summoner on a journey and an upbeat aquatic-sport star athlete from another world.

Cloud thought Tifa had mistaken him for Wedge’s cat and raised his head, unsure how to answer, “Uhh…”

Tifa put her book down to the side, finally taking notice of the faint scar from the cat’s scratch and gently brushed her fingers across his eyebrow, “So I take it you've been bad then?”

Cloud chuckled at her serious yet silly words. She looked at him innocently, still expecting an answer.

He scratched the back of his head and shrugged,

“Well...the cat is still alive and I didn’t lose any mittens. So where’s my pie?”

He cracked a smile. Tifa rolled her eyes and lightly flicked him on the forehead.


	4. Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Marlene explains it all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer : All characters and Final Fantasy belong to Square Enix.
> 
> Warnings: Please note that some of the stories will contain spoilers or reference to the original game, Advent Children, Dirge of Cerberus, Crisis Core and Remake.
> 
> Genre: Romance, fluff, Kids are wiser than they look

Tifa had once reminded him that there were more than just words that told others his thoughts and feelings.

Yet he still found it hard to articulate any of it.

It was near damn impossible. It was like he was sixteen again, trying to impress the girl of his dreams and then failing again.

Cloud could not for the life of him, tell her those three damn words.

_"Do you love me Cloud?"_

It was so long ago when Tifa had asked him that very question before quickly changing it to reference Marlene.

In truth, he had heard her that night and feigned waking up in a daze.

It was just easier to tell her he loved Marlene. She was an innocent child that deserved all the affection in the world. But with Tifa, he could never find the right time...or the courage.

Tifa had given Cloud so much for so little in return. Even when he left her and the children during his troubling time when he was infected with Geostigma, she still wanted to stand by him.

He felt utterly pathetic. At this rate, someone will probably come and sweep Tifa off her feet and take her out on a date with destiny.

With a groan, Cloud stared blankly at the jukebox in the corner of Seventh Heaven. Marlene, who sat next to him with a table full of crayon art, took notice of Cloud's miserableness.

"Cloud, are you sad?"

Cloud snapped out of his forlorn gaze and jumped in his seat, "Nope, I am not sad at all." He said quickly, hoping she would take it and move on.

But of course, Marlene was sharper than that and puffed her cheeks in displeasure. She knew exactly when someone was lying to her, "It's because of Tifa, right?"

Cloud let out a heavy sigh and patted her head, "It is...but it's nothing you need to worry about, kiddo. You probably won't understand." He slumped back down on his seat.

Marlene poked at Cloud chest, right upon his beating heart, "Nah ah, I totally understand! I know what you need to do! All you have to do is show her!"

Cloud scrunched his eyebrows in confusion, "Show her what?"

"Geez Cloud, do I have to spell it out for you?"

Marlene rummaged through her piles of artwork, which featured adorable crayon portraits of her friends and family.

Cloud took notice of their late comrade Aerith, drawn with a halo and angel wings, in her signature pink dress holding a basket of yellow flowers at the very top pile.

After several pages flew into the air, Marlene finally found the one that she wanted to show Cloud.

It was a doodle of two people that resembled Cloud and Tifa standing next to each other, and something that seemed to be a long red string, one end wrapped around his finger, and the other end on Tifa's finger.

"Daddy always told me that when two people are meant to be together forever and ever, that they are tied by the red string of fate. See, me and Daddy share one too!"

She then showed him the drawing of her and Barret.

Elated by Marlene's words of encouragement, Cloud pulled Marlene into a tight hug, "You're the best, you know that?"

"Marlene, at your service!" With that, she went back to doodling with her crayons, humming to the tunes of the catchy Stamp theme song.

Cloud pondered ways to approach Tifa with his new found courage and understanding of Marlene's words, to _"show her"_ his thoughts and feelings.

He chuckled softly to himself as he realized in his mind that he just took love advice from a six year old.

Cloud pulled Tifa to the side randomly one day in the midst of an extremely busy time at Seventh Heaven, away from the gazes of the horny drunkards who lusted after her.

He had spent all morning preparing for this moment and was now nervously digging around his pockets.

Tifa waited patiently as long as she could, as she watched Cloud fumble with something in his hands.

She slowly made her way out of his room, "I'm sorry Cloud, is this something we can talk about later? I really should get back to the bar soon to prep—"

The moment Cloud seized her wrist to slide a silver Fenrir ring onto her finger, and quickly brush his lips clumsily across Tifa's, she immediately knew how much she had meant to him.

He pulled away after several minutes of awkward lip locking, and rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment.

Tifa was truly at a loss for words for the first time, "Cloud...I..."

Before Cloud began to step away as he muttered further apologies for his inadequate kiss, Tifa grabbed a fistful of his turtleneck shirt, stood at the tip of her toes and pulled him down toward hers.

This time, he was able to taste the sweetness of her lips, and the flick of her tongue sliding across his teeth.

Tifa couldn't help but admire her new ring, shimmering brightly on her finger. It wasn't a sentimental promise or a diamond ring, but something more special than that.

Cloud wore a matching ring as well.

She promised never to take it off.


	5. Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Denzel believes his homemade gift is not good enough for her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This was written specially for Mother's Day. Happy Mother's Day to all the wonderful mothers out there!
> 
> Disclaimer : Final Fantasy, characters and everything associated with the Final Fantasy world belong to Square Enix.
> 
> Warnings: Please note that some of the stories will contain spoilers or reference to the original game, Advent Children, Dirge of Cerberus, Crisis Core and Remake.
> 
> Genre: Family fluff, Mothers day

Denzel clutched the item in his hand nervously.

It was something he put his mind and heart into, but wasn't sure how to approach the one person he wanted to bestow it upon.

He learned how to make one in school back when he was living in Sector 7 and thought this would be the best way to show his appreciation for her.

Unfortunately, he didn't have all the materials needed to make it extra special or perfect. So he was now somewhat afraid she wouldn't like it at all.

It was just that...he had nothing better than this and it was already so late into the day with all the shops closed to get anything else for her.

So Denzel lingered around the hallway, walking back and forth, hoping to find the courage to just give it to her.

Cloud took notice of Denzel's anxiety and pulled the young boy into his office, "What's got you so worked up, kiddo?"

Denzel tried to hide the item behind his back, "It's nothing."

Of course, Cloud could tell he was lying, "Nothing huh? What you got hiding behind there? Did you sneak one of Tifa's chocolate chip cookies again?"

With a grin, Cloud held out his palm, "I won't tell her if you share half with me."

Cloud waited for Denzel to answer honestly, staring him down with his deep mako infused eyes. It was a look Denzel abhorred, because it felt like Cloud was staring straight into his soul.

Denzel let out a groan and pulled out the item in front of him, "See? I told you it's nothing! Nothing but a piece of shi—"

"Hey, language!" Cloud scolded before Denzel could finish his sentence. Despite being a good comrade to Cloud and cool uncle to Denzel and Marlene, Cid had often let his foul mouth tantrums slip out around them. Cloud was going to need to give the Highwind pilot a good talking.

"But it's true. I shouldn't have considered this as a gift for Tifa." Denzel glowered at the item and decided to let it slip from his grasp, hoping it would break into pieces.

Cloud's quick reflexes caught the item in time before it could even touch the ground, "This is your gift to Tifa?"

Soft footsteps sounded from the hallway and eventually, Tifa stepped into the office and placed a Cosmo Canyon mixed drink on Cloud's desk, "Did I hear there's a gift for me?"

Tifa looked around curiously and then gazed down at Denzel. "Oh, how was your day today Denzel?"

Denzel gasped at the appearance of Tifa and hid behind Cloud, avoiding her gaze.

"Honey, what's the matter?" Tifa took a tiny step forward, but that only made Denzel hide his face completely into Cloud's back.

Denzel was usually an energetic boy and was quite the chatterbox, so it bothered her that he wasn't his usual self. "Did something happen?"

Cloud looked at the object in his hand, taking in the details of the imperfect edges, then glanced at Denzel before cracking a wide smile,

"I think I know what's going on..." Taking Tifa's right hand, Cloud rested the item gently in her palm. He concealed the item with his big one over hers before slowly revealing it.

"No wait!" Denzel cried out as he stumbled toward Tifa, hoping to swipe the horrific item from her grasp, "Please don't give it to her! It's—"

"This is amazing!" Tifa exclaimed happily, holding the item close to her heart, "I love it!" She smiled warmly and pulled Denzel into a tight hug, "I never got anything like this before. You made it just for me?"

There was no hint of disappointment or oddity in her voice, which puzzled him. When he first gifted the same gift to his real mother, she hesitated and her voice went up an octave when she spoke.

How could anyone like such a horrible item?

Denzel nodded slowly, "Y-you really like it? Truly like it?"

Tifa admired it, as she opened and closed the lid of Denzel's gift, "Of course I do. I am grateful for this beautiful jewelry box. It will go perfectly with Marlene's gift. She made me a small vase to replace the one we lost in Sector 7. Such a sweet little girl."

She pointed at the small vase sitting on top of the dresser in her room, opposite from Cloud's office.

Marlene's vase surprisingly matched in color and decoration to Denzel's gift, and it was just as disproportionate but still stood stable enough to hold a single yellow lily, which Tifa held dear to her heart.

The yellow flower was a gift Cloud had worked hard to actually grow himself, with some lovely advice from Elmyra of course.

Denzel finally let out a sigh of relief, "I am so glad you like it. I worked really hard on it."

"And this is why I am putting my favorite belonging in it." Tifa placed a kiss upon Denzel's cheek, "Thank you sweetie."

Cloud grinned, "Perfect, now you have something to store the silver Fenrir ring I gave you." Cloud took Tifa's hand that wore the said ring and placed a chaste kiss upon it.

"Hmm...I guess so…" Tifa replied with ambiguity.

Cloud looked up, "Oh, you want something else?"

"Maybe…?" She teased him, tapping her finger at her bottom lip as she looked away. The hint on her face told him otherwise.

It was a surprise that Cloud hadn't taken her hand in marriage yet. What was the blonde fool waiting for?

Hell, they were practically _raising_ two kids together, Denzel and Marlene, like a family.

Denzel was still getting used to calling Cloud, Tifa and Marlene his family. They were not related by blood, but they took him in and raised him like he was their son.

Cloud would tousle his hair and tease him like any father would do.

Marlene was the younger sister he desired to protect.

Tifa had cared for him like a mother, and never once felt he was a burden to have around.

He was content with the life he now had and didn't want to change a thing.


	6. Pen and Paper

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which 1st class SOLDIER Zack pesters Shinra Guard Cloud about a “love” letter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer : Final Fantasy, characters and everything associated with the Final Fantasy world belong to Square Enix.
> 
> Warnings: Please note that some of the stories will contain spoilers or reference OG, Advent Children, Dirge of Cerberus and Remake.
> 
> Genre: Romance, friendship, bromance, wingman Zack

Dejected by the blank piece of paper staring back at him, Cloud had spent the better half of his day off in his single dorm room at the Shinra Military base, trying to accomplish one of the many things he had been holding off since he joined.

He held his pen tightly, concentrating hard on his penmanship to write the first few words of a personal letter, _“Dear Tifa...”_

“Oh, is that a love letter I see?” A familiar voice sounded unexpectedly behind him. He felt the person linger over his shoulder, curious of the contents of his handwritten letter.

Cloud jumped in his seat and scrambled to conceal his letter from his nosy 1st Class rank SOLDIER superior, Zack Fair. He had managed to sneak up on Cloud, for the fourth time since they met.

“It’s not a love letter...” He replied sheepishly, before crumpling the letter up, throwing it to the side and letting it roll to a pile of other crumpled up papers that lay scattered around a metal waste bin. 

With a grin, Zack picked up and unfurled one of the papers from the floor. The letter didn’t have much written. 

Only a few words sloppily written and then scratched out several times. This piqued Zack’s interest about the person Cloud was having trouble writing to.

“So who’s the lucky girl waiting for you at home? Is she a cutie?”

The young Shinra guard ripped the paper out of Zack’s grasp, “It’s not like that! I mean…it’s complicated.”

Cloud had only just joined Zack’s unit a few weeks ago and they became fast friends. 

He looked up to Zack and aspired to be like him, but there were times when the Gongana native got a little too up close and personal. 

Zack was an energetic individual, always looking for ways to get to know people. He practically described himself as Cloud’s mentor and was quite proud about all the 1st class SOLDIER wisdom he was passing down. 

At this exact moment, Zack felt this was another mentoring lesson, an opportunity to bond with one of his best friends.

“Oh lighten up will you? I got someone waiting for me too. A beautiful down to earth girl from Sector 5 who loves to grow flowers. We write to each other all the time.” 

Here, Zack pulled out a pink envelope and brought it up to his nose, inhaling the sweet fragrance that came from it, “Smells just like her.”

Cloud stared at Zack in disbelief, shocked to find that he actually found the one girl to capture his heart. He was a notorious playboy from all the rumors he heard.

Zack stashed his pink letter from the girl of his dreams away and sat at the edge of Cloud’s makeshift bed, “So I take it you have not written to _her_ yet?”

A slight shade of red colored Cloud’s cheeks, “I...well…”

“Come on, it’s just me. You know you can tell me anything if you ever want to get things off your chest.” Zack placed his hands on Cloud’s tense shoulders and gave a reassuring squeeze. 

To be honest, Cloud wrote so many letters intending to send home but he never found the courage to do anything past that, let alone actually finish writing any of them.

He failed at becoming the one thing he came here for, to become someone she would admire, and be able to keep the promise they shared.

So it wasn’t worth sending anything if there wasn’t any good news to tell her...

Cloud really never confided with anyone at Shinra. He was an only child, so deep down, he also saw the man with the cross scar on his cheek before him like an older brother he never had.

Cloud did often seek out for his approval and advice.

Although his _older brother_ tended to have the attention span of a puppy.

Zack wasn’t going to be leaving anytime soon and he had always paid extra attention to Cloud, to which he was grateful for. 

Taking a deep breath, Cloud finally cast away his shell and began telling Zack about her, “She’s a neighbor of mine and we’ve known each other since our childhood...”

“Ah, so you're trying to impress her huh?” Zack rested his hands on his hips, “So why has it taken you so long to write to her?”

Cloud rubbed the back of his neck, “You know why.” He pulled out his Shinra helmet and gazed at it with contempt, “I’m not a great 1st class soldier like you or Sephiroth. I’m just a Shinra guard.”

_What can a messily Shinra guard do to protect her? He probably could not even save her when she needed it._

Zack shook his head and waived his index finger around in a nagging manner, “Doesn’t matter! You should **_never_ ** keep the lady of your heart waiting.”

Now he was in romance expert mode.

“So, how do I become more like you?” Cloud asked eagerly, jumping to his feet, “How can I become a 1st class soldier quickly?”

Zack chuckled at Cloud's silly request, “Nah, you don’t want to be like me. You gotta be your true self. That’s what all the ladies like and I’m sure this girl would rather see the real you than someone like me.” 

Cloud scratched the back of his head and shrugged, “I mean, I guess that makes sense...but…”

Zack shook his head, “I’m already taken. We can’t have another clone of me walking around now, right? Just be you. I guarantee it will win your girl’s heart, I just know it.” 

Without hesitation, Zack pushed Cloud back down on his seat, “So get buckled down and finish that love letter already!”

He then placed the chocobo feather pen back in Cloud’s right hand and pulled out a blank piece of paper, “Tell her that you made it halfway there. Just gotta work a bit harder to become the best of the best.”

Zack genuinely believed in Cloud to work his way up the ranks and eventually become the hero that he sought out to be.

Cloud was grateful for Zack’s persistence and managed to finish the letter that wasn’t a love letter with his heart on his sleeve. 

“Thank you, Zack.” 

“Better late than never. I’m the best wingman ever, am I right?” Zack joked while nudging Cloud in his rib with his elbow. He wriggled his eyebrows here, making Cloud laugh.

Cloud was going to do it. He would not hesitate to send the letter tomorrow when the post office opened in the morning. 

He’ll have to make it up to Zack one day, hoping he can return a similar favor. When Zack needed someone to lean on, Cloud would be there in an instant. He’ll be that wingman too if Zack wanted it.

He began to feel proud that he made it this far in Shinra, thanks to Zack’s encouragement.

Unfortunately, Cloud was never able to send the letter or get a chance to become Zack’s wingman, as they were all called in to prepare for a special mission the next day.

It was the last time he was able to open up to anyone again in a long time, before he lost everything he held dear in Nibelheim to a sea of flames.

The finished letter he meant to send out that he kept in his pocket, fell out and burned to ashes. It was long forgotten as he raced after Sephiroth, Zack and Tifa up Mt. Nibel to the Mako Reactor.


	7. No Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Cloud is late and rushes through his morning routine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Final Fantasy, characters and everything associated with the Final Fantasy world belong to Square Enix.
> 
> Warnings: Please note that some of the stories will contain spoilers or reference OG, Advent Children, Dirge of Cerberus and Remake.
> 
> Genre: Family fluff

Cloud had slept through his alarm. The clock buzzed annoyingly loud and as soon as he glanced at the time, he muttered a curse under his breath and finally stumbled out of bed.

He was so late, he barely had time to comb through his gravity defying hair, brush his teeth or make himself look presentable.

If he didn’t get this particular delivery to its destination on time, he would be losing a ton of good hard-earned money. This was a client he wanted to keep on good terms.

So he dashed through the hallway, practically somersaulting to avoid Denzel’s pile toys scattered throughout the floor. Cloud recalled telling him to put away his belongings last night but obviously the kid did not listen. He’ll scold him later.

Approaching the top of the stairs, Cloud leapt from the top to the very bottom, landing on one knee over the other without breaking sweat or a scratch. Too easy.

He skidded into the bar/kitchen area and swiftly gulped down his bitter black coffee. Despite it being very hot, it didn't bother him. He was a SOLDIER and could take on anything. After that, he peeled and devoured the last three bananas from the fruit bowl.

Whipping around, he roamed the corner of the bar area for the keys to his motorcycle. Upon locating them in the clear candy dish at the far opposite side from where he stood, Cloud went and slid down the bartop, and swiped the keys along the way.

Tifa, Marlene, Denzel and Barret watched in awe as Cloud completed the spectacular routine in just under ten minutes. Cloud made his way toward the garage and kissed each person down the row. 

Two pecks each on Marlene’s eyebrows, followed by a soft whisper, “Be a good angel to Tifa, Denzel and your Dad, got it?”

A pat on Denzel’s crown--because he was a _“grown up”_ boy who thought kisses had _cooties_ \--just before tousling his wavy chestnut hair. Cloud then gave him a warning with a wave of his index finger, “Put away those toys, or I’m gonna have to chop em’ all up with my Buster sword.”

For Tifa’s soft sweet lips, a chaste kiss which lingered a few seconds longer than he planned.

And lastly, a smooch on Barret’s right cheek.

Barret was caught by surprise by the gesture, wondering how the hell Cloud had not noticed the awkward _kiss_ between them. 

Cloud literally had to stand at the tip of his toes to reach Barrett’s face, “Fool, what do you think you’re doing?”

It had become a force of habit for Cloud to show his affection for his family. Barret was technically part of the family too, so why not?

“See you home later tonight, **_honey_ **?” Cloud replied jokingly, giving the ex-Avalanche leader a cheeky smile.

Barrett scowled and attempted to give the blonde smartass a light punch, lungig forward ready to strangle, but Cloud quickly dodged away before stumbling out into the garage and jumped on top of Fenrir.

Cloud revved up Fenrir’s engine and sped off toward Rocket Town.


	8. Fortitude

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Tifa fights alone and drinks lots of Remedies.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Final Fantasy, characters and everything associated with the Final Fantasy world belong to Square Enix.
> 
> Warnings: Please note that some of the stories will contain spoilers or reference to the original game, Advent Children, Dirge of Cerberus, Crisis Core and Remake.
> 
> Genre: Fluff, slight drama

She was an absolute hypocrite.

Tifa did not want to admit it to herself because she had given Cloud a lot of grief about this very thing with her constant nagging.

She made him promise her to never allow anything get between them and to always be honest.

Yet she decided this was something that didn’t need to be known. It was minor, nothing to be worried about. She could fight through it.

Tifa was inflicted with far worse ailments before, and this was something that a simple bottle of Remedy couldn’t cure.

Gulping down a third bottle for the day, Tifa continued on with her routine at Seventh Heaven as normal.

Within the span of two hours into the evening rush, she had stumbled a few times, nearly tipping mixed drinks over her customers.

Fortunately, Tifa quickly regained her balance and it looked like she was simply just showing off her new Barmaid dance moves, grooving along to a techno-beat song called _“Let the battle begin! -REMAKE-”_ that was taking Edge by storm.

There was some confusion with two or three orders of food, but with her sweet charming smile, most of the customers were too drunk to notice or care. 

She managed to get away with it all.

Denzel and Marlene did not notice a thing either, and Tifa wanted to keep it that way. The kids definitely did not need to worry, because if they did, they would tell on her. Those kids were good kids, but were such _tattletales_.

When she began to feel a migraine come around, she downed her last drop of Remedy. The sour liquid stung her throat, but it helped, just a little.

Tifa closed her eyes for just a moment and took a deep breath. She wiped the sweat off her forehead and then let out a slow sigh. Her breathing exercises, which Zangan taught her long ago, helped keep her calm.

She had overcome this before. It had only been three days now since it started. She was sure this would be the last of the symptoms.

Cloud had caught her resting her head against the refrigerator, which surprised her as she was just standing by the bar mixing drinks...Or was she cooking in the kitchen? 

She couldn’t remember what she was doing at the exact moment. She had a white towel in her hand, and noticed that the bar was now silent and empty.

“Tifa?” Cloud turned her to face him.

“Hmmm…?” Tifa swayed back and forth, unable to keep her head from spinning or the image of Cloud from getting blurry.

“Hey, you ok?” He reached up and brushed a few out of place locks from her face.

  
The moment his fingers touched her burning skin, Tifa knew she was done for. She couldn’t hold this facade any longer. 

Tifa hoped to avoid him until she got better. He had been away on odd delivery jobs and returned late at night, so she had been lucky until now.

With all her might, she wanted to gaze deeply into those magnificent mako eyes and tell him that she was fine. 

But she couldn’t lie to Cloud. She was tired of this.

Just seeing him made her heart thump rapidly and breathing erratic.

Tifa spiraled into his arms and let out a sob, “ _I’m so sorry Cloud_.”

  
  


Cloud thought he knew her well enough that she would never in a million years do something as stupid as this.

He swallowed the angry words he wanted to throw at her and quickly carried her up to her bedroom. 

When he attempted to step out to grab her a cup of water, Tifa begged for him to not leave her side. 

She reached out from underneath the blankets and wrapped her fingers around his wrist, gripping as tightly as she could in her weak state, “Are you angry with me?”

Cloud did not glance back at her or give a reply. 

  
“I know, I messed up and lied to you.” Tifa placed the back of her other hand across her forehead, “I didn’t want you all to worry. There are so many other things that need to be done, and I...”

Cloud spun around and threw his arms into the air, “You’ve overworked yourself and Remedy bottles aren’t the best to take when you have a burning fever!”

“I guess that means you’ll have to take care of me then?” Tifa looked up at him innocently. She pulled the covers up where only the top of her head and eyes were shown. 

It was exactly what Marlene did to get out of trouble. And somehow, it worked out for Tifa.

”Yeah, until you are fully recovered.” Cloud’s voice was soft and soothing now. He gently placed his forehead against hers, “It’s the least I can do. You’ve done so much for us.”

Tifa blinked at his odd forehead touching gesture. “What are you doing, Cloud?”

Cloud pulled away and shrugged, “Checking your temperature?”

“Silly, that only works on precious children...” Tifa let out a soft yawn at the end of her sentence. With her eyes drooping, she finally drifted off into a deep slumber.

Cloud gazed longingly at her serene face. Knowing full well she wasn’t going to hear him, he replied back in the barest whisper,

_“You’re precious to me..”_


	9. Expectations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which a young Tifa is too distraught to practice her Martial arts lessons.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Final Fantasy, characters and everything associated with the Final Fantasy world belong to Square Enix. Proverbs used within this story belong to their respective owners.
> 
> Warnings: Please note that some of the stories will contain spoilers or reference to the original game, Advent Children, Dirge of Cerberus, Crisis Core and Remake.
> 
> Genre: Drama, friendship

Tifa took a deep breath and attempted a forceful swing of her fist at the person before her. Unfortunately, she did not make contact with his face and stumbled forward instead.

This was the twelfth time she had missed her target and it had only been less than an hour into her training.

"What has gotten you so distracted lately, young lady? Your forms are getting quite sloppy."

Her martial arts Master, Zangan, pointed out as he corrected her stance, "It's quite unexpected of my star student."

Tifa let out a growl and leapt up, raising her leg to perform a devastating kick, but her Master caught her foot and pushed her back with ease.

Zangan shook his head in disappointment, "Enough! I cannot teach you if you are not focused! Ms. Lockhart, you must find inner peace before you can wield your fists. With your mind wandering, you will surely lose your battle."

"I'm sorry Master! I just...Give me another chance, I know I can perfect the _Starshower_!"

Her Master abruptly held a hand up to halt Tifa's movement, "Let's take a break."

Tifa watched Zangan stroll over to a low wooden table in the opposite corner of the Nibelheim makeshift dojo, which was one of the rental townhouses he stayed at in the middle of town.

He pulled an antique blue and white Chinese tea set from under the table and poured hot jasmine into two cups.

She stood rooted in place, shocked that she was allowed to take a break at all. Zangan would often push her to the limit until the end of their training session. Tifa didn't mind and liked the extra exercise.

Zangan urged her over to the tatami floor cushion beside him, "Tell me, what is troubling you?"

Tifa could only obey her Master's instructions and moseyed on over to the mat. "I am sorry Master Zangan. I think I'm just exhausted now that I am taking on the responsibilities of being Nibelheim's tour guide. Going up and down Mt. Nibel is not an easy task."

She took a sip of her tea and gazed longingly out the window.

Zangan eyed her suspiciously, seeing through her lie. She was a horrible liar and shook her head, "I have once again disappointed you. I'm truly not a deserving apprentice…"

"You will never disappoint me." Zangan replied in a soothing voice, "All that I wish is for you to tell me what is on your mind. Once you find that peace, we will commence training."

What was on her mind?

It was quite obvious who was on her mind lately. He had been deep in her thoughts for the last two years since he left town with a promise to become her one and true hero.

Cloud Strife, the quiet blonde boy that lived next door to her for the last twelve years.

She had checked the newspaper every morning, half-expecting to find his name and face plastered all over the front.

In the evenings, she waited by the mailbox for any letter from the boy that she hoped would write to her about his magnificent adventures at the Shinra Military academy.

Days, weeks and months passed and there was nothing.

She began to wonder if he had forgotten about her.

Tifa clenched her fist, biting back the tears welling at the corner of her eyes.

Zangan placed a hand upon her crown affectionately, something her late Mother used to do when she felt disheartened. He closed his eyes and stroked her hair,

"Fate will bring people together no matter how far apart they may be. Focus on the road ahead, and in a fleeting moment, you'll find what you are looking for right under your nose."

His meaningful words reverberated deep in her heart and mind.

This brought a hopeful smile back to Tifa's crestfallen face. She had to be optimistic and continue supporting him from afar.

Cloud was probably still training rigorously in the SOLDIER program. Perhaps his time was preoccupied to become the best and surprise her in person.

With her heart clear of worry and mind refocused, they resumed the remainder of her training session for the day.

When Tifa returned home shortly before dinner, ready to run up the stairs for a relaxing bath, she was surprised to find a young man with long flowing black hair in a dark navy suit talking with her Father.

She took notice of the tilak on the man's forehead, a very uncommon mark one would wear around these parts.

Her Father chimed excitedly, "Honey, guess your hard work as a tour guide has finally gained you some recognition. This gentleman works for Shinra and has personally selected you to guide the war hero Sephiroth up the mountains!"

The dark haired man acknowledged Tifa, shook hands with her Father and then made his way out in silence.

Tifa's Father broke out the apple cider in celebration, proud of Tifa's new opportunity.

"Oh before I forget, Sephiroth will also be accompanied by a new 1st Class SOLDIER. They arrive in 3 days. Please try to look your best, dear."

Tifa could not contain her excitement upon hearing those words. With tears of joy, she rushed up the stairs to her room.

She pulled out a special cowboy attire, all decked out with matching leather vest, skirt, boots and hat. It was the same one her Mother had worn back during her youth.

This was an outfit she was waiting for the right occasion to finally wear, and had spent hours updating the stitches and adding more decoration to it to make it more modern.

Tifa put on the cowboy hat and twirled around with the outfit--still hanging on the hanger--pushed to her chest, then plopped down on her bed with a slight bounce. She stared up at the ceiling and let out a sigh of contentment.

At last, she will be reunited with her blonde hero.


	10. Food

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Cloud misses Tifa’s cooking.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Final Fantasy, characters and everything associated with the Final Fantasy world belong to Square Enix.
> 
> Warnings: Please note that some of the stories will contain spoilers or reference to the original game, Advent Children, Dirge of Cerberus, Crisis Core and Remake.
> 
> Genre: Fluff, food

Wedge leaned back on his chair and undid one button from his pants. He let his flabby, very full stomach jut out as he bellowed out a loud burp.

“Uggh, I think I’m going to have a food coma.”

Cloud, Jessie and Biggs all stared in astonishment at their rolly-polly Avalanche comrade. Wedge had just gobbled everything in sight and did not leave a single crumb on his plate.

Chugging down his beer, Biggs could not help but poke at Wedge’s round stomach, hoping to elicit a giggle from the foodie, “I have never seen anyone devour that many plates in one sitting before. You are one extraordinary man, Wedge.”

Jessie could barely keep up counting the number of plates as she helped Tifa move them from the table to the sink, 

“You greedy pig, you should have saved some of the pie! Especially a piece for me and Cloud to share!” 

Here, she gave a playful wink toward Cloud.

Cloud simply ignored her and took a sip of his Grey Chocobo Vodka cocktail drink, which was the only thing he ordered, skipping out on the delicious food.

“Oh man, would I sell my soul for more of Tifa’s famous Banora white apple pie.” Wedge let out a dreamy sigh, licking his now watering mouth.

“Wait a minute...We barely made it out of that last bombing mission and this fool didn’t even leave ANY pie for us?!” With a childish pout, Biggs crossed his arms in annoyance, “I was looking forward to that all day.”

It had been years since Cloud was able to taste something sweet. SOLDIERS at the Shinra Military academy had a strict diet and with the infusion of mako, his taste buds were off.

The last time he ate Banora white pie was on his 13th birthday, when Tifa was just learning how to bake. She was his guinea pig, and the first few times she baked the pies, they were either too sour or bitter. 

He even recalled the one time he almost choked on one piece and wanted to spit it out so badly due to the extreme sourness, but he couldn’t bear the disappointed look on Tifa’s face, so he swallowed each pie with a smile on his face. 

Over time, she had perfected the pie with the right amount of sweetness, and every year until his departure for Shinra, she would bake a pie for his birthday. He had come to love the pie, and the warm happy look on the girl next door’s face. It was the only present he wanted to be honest.

Upon reminiscing, he realized that he hadn’t really tasted Tifa’s cooking since then. Wedge and Biggs had pointed many times what a great cook she is and that any man that wedded her would be the luckiest man in the world.

Disappointed for missing out on the pie, Cloud called it a night and excused himself. He stepped out in front of Seventh Heaven bar and scanned the surrounding area, taking in the details of the Sector 7 slums.

He took two steps down the stairs and was about to turn left toward Stargazer Heights apartment building, but stopped in place when he noticed movement at the corner of his eyes.

With his SOLDIER instincts, Cloud’s hand wrapped around the handle of his Buster Sword, ready to draw and attack. Within a second, he turned toward the intruder and pointed his blade at the person’s throat.

“Whoa there, _SOLDIER_. Stand down, it's just me!” The person finally moved away from the shadows and into the light. Her long dark hair fell softly around her familiar pale face, and with the moonlight shining brightly through the unfinished sector 7 plates, she had an ethereal glow about her.

Cloud blinked for a moment before letting his guard back down, “Tifa? Damn, don’t sneak up on me like that.”

Tifa chuckled, “Sorry, it was not my intention!”

Snapping his sword in place to his back, he crossed his arms and gazed back at the bar, “What brings you out here? Shouldn’t you be inside celebrating with them?”

With arms behind her back, Tifa stepped in front of him with a grin, “I wanted to say goodnight before you left.”

Cloud replied back in a soft voice, “Oh. Well, Goodnight to you too, Tifa.” 

Before Tifa could say anything else, he bid her farewell and turned back to make his way down the path.

"Wait!" Tifa shot her hand out and pulled him back, "Before I forget, I thought you might like this."

She placed a clear food container in his hand. Within it, was a single slice of Banora White apple pie with whipped cream on top, “I saved this one specially for you. I know it's not your birthday, but I do hope you enjoy it.”

He stared at the pie, then back at her lovely brown almost ruby-like eyes. The memories of all the times they shared pie together came rushing through his mind.

Cracking a tiny smile upon his stoic face, Cloud opened the container, took the single fork out and cut a small portion out of the pie, “Would you like some? We better be quick and finish this before the others find out.”

Tifa beamed and nodded in agreement, “Hmm, I thought you’d never ask.”


	11. Kick in the head

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Cloud seeks advice from Cid Highwind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This story was based on one of the silly Lolz quotes by Silver-Wield on Tumblr. Balthier also makes an appearance as lady charmer. Sorry to all the Balthier fans for the way I depicted him here. I do adore him in FFXII. Enjoy!
> 
> Disclaimer: Final Fantasy, characters and everything associated with the Final Fantasy world belong to Square Enix.
> 
> Warnings: Please note that some of the stories will contain spoilers or reference to the original game, Advent Children, Dirge of Cerberus, Crisis Core and Remake. 
> 
> Genre: Drama, romance, Cloud's an idiot, Jealous Cloud

If there was one other person who would be able to kick Cloud across his slowass skull, it would be Cid Highwind.

“You did what now? Cid flicked his cigarette to the ground and stomped on it.

Cloud was utterly desperate if he had to travel all the way to Rocket Town to seek out Cid Highwind for advice.

“Long story short, Tifa’s pissed off at me.” Cloud slumped his shoulders, hung his head low and leaned back against Fenrir.

Cid snorted at that. It wasn’t a surprise. Cloud Strife was as slow as molasses when it came to relationships.

With Cloud sulking like a poor kitten lost and hungry in the rain, the older blonde let out a groan, “Can’t help if you don’t give me the details.”

Cloud began rambling on about attempting to break almost every bone in the body of an old acquaintance from Nibelheim. One of the boys from Tifa’s circle of friends that he hated in the past. 

His name was Balthier and he was quite the _‘ladies man’_ , often boasting about being the leader of a famous rock band called _“Sky Pirates_ ”.

Tifa was obviously blinded by Balthier’s dashing charm and smooth talking.

Balthier’s forceful advances toward Tifa and fake-ass formalized English accent irritated Cloud. He couldn’t stand seeing how touchy-feely the guy was. It was the last straw when Balthier stroked Tifa’s hair and kissed her fingers like she belonged to him.

Cloud finally snapped and decided to confront the sleazebag.

The ex-SOlDIER had restrained himself to only telling the _Sky Pirate_ leader off. 

But of course Balthier was still the same condescending boy he remembered from Nibelheim, one of the older kids that used to bully Cloud and picked fights. He was the first to retaliate, ridiculing Cloud and reminding him that Tifa was better off with someone else.

One thing led to another, and both ended up in a fist fight. Cloud had wanted to dislodge the bastard’s arm so badly.

Tifa broke up their altercation and was furious at the damage made as a result of their brawl. Both men tried to object and point blame and fingers at each other, but she didn’t care who started the fight, they were behaving like “ _petty stupid asshole jerks”_ and banished them both out of the bar. She even went as far as sending a spiraling kick in the ass.

A Tifa that cursed in front of the children was also not a good sign either.

After the dramatic re-telling of what seemed like a terrible low-budget romance soap opera, Cloud let out a heavy sigh, “I made it worse by asking her for some water while she was still pissed at me. She put a cup of ice in front of me and told me to _‘wait’_.”

The Highwind pilot threw his hands into the air, 

“Well no wonder. That’s your own damn fault. Shera be mad as hell too if I pulled the same shit on her and an old guy friend.” 

Cid paused for a moment here and then added under his breath, _“Actually, nevermind, I probably wouldn’t care and kill the motherf****r...”_

It had only been three days since the incident and Cloud had absolutely no idea what to do at this point. “I can’t seem to win at life apparently. What do you do to get out of this type of mess?”

Cid cracked a grin, “What Shera and I always do. _Make up in bed_. You and Tifa together now, right?”

Cloud blushed at the innuendo and looked away, unable to answer the last part of Cid’s question.

Cid looked at Cloud incredulously. Rolling his eyes, he then went on a tirade, 

“Dumbass, you haven’t got the balls to ask her out yet? No damn wonder other men are scurrying to get into her pants. What are you waiting for? Sephiroth to raise from his grave again, a third time?! Well whatever, just tell her you’re sorry. Stop brooding like a horny angsty teenger and own up to your f***ing mistake. Don’t let jealousy get the best of you, it’ll just end up biting you back in the ass.”

Cloud didn’t like to admit it was because of jealousy...definitely not jealous…Ok, maybe just a tad bit.

The Highwind pilot had more experience in these types of situations and was probably right about everything.

Cid shook his head and lit up another cigarette. He shooed the ex-SOLDIER man that acted like a sixteen year old away,

“Just go home already. I ain’t got any more time of your dilly dally shilly shallying.” 

By the time Cloud returned home, Tifa had long since forgiven him about the whole ordeal. 

“I was never really into Balthier. He was always the charmer, but to be quite frank, I couldn’t stand the guy. I was only friends with him cuz’ my parents knew his parents.”

Cloud still didn’t like the fact that she actually let Balthier blow butterfly kisses upon her fingers, “But Tifa…”

Tifa shushed him with her index finger and told him to drop it.

She had enough of Cloud’s constant need to “ _save_ ” her from every guy that showed up on her doorstep.

“I guess Balthier didn’t get the hint with me showing you off around the bar. Just talk to me next time, ok?” She planted a sweet kiss on his cheek and moseyed on about the day as normal.


	12. Misfortune

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Cloud ends up getting inflicted with a peculiar unknown status effect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: It’s 4AM in the morning and the plot bunnies have attacked me. This silly fic came about after a discussion in the Final Heaven CloTi discord server about how Cloud’s pout was inspired by a cat. 
> 
> I mentioned that I wanted to see Tifa holding Cat!Cloud and an artist there responded to my request with an amazing TifaxCat!Cloud artwork. So this fic is dedicated to Cloudy on the CloTi Final Heaven discord. Thank you for making my day and for the inspiration of this silly story. Please enjoy!
> 
> Disclaimer: Final Fantasy, characters and everything associated with the Final Fantasy world belong to Square Enix.
> 
> Warnings: Please note that some of the stories will contain spoilers or reference to the original game, Advent Children, Dirge of Cerberus, Crisis Core and Remake. Also, this story is silly and stupid.
> 
> Genre: Action, Adventure, Fluff, friendship, romance, kiss of the maiden

It was all a blur. He had been side blinded by a new mutated breed of Malboro, which most likely were the remnants of Hojo’s horrifying experiments that escaped from the underground labs.

Why they have emerged now after so many months wasn’t Cloud's problem. What was Cloud's problem was the unfortunate situation he was in now.

It was an urgent request by a concerned citizen to eliminate the disruptive monsters lurking around the now half destroyed Sector 7 slums.

People were trying to rebuild their homes and did **_NOT_ ** want to deal with monsters prowling about.

Cloud didn’t think of it much and saw it as an easy task for quick money. So he journeyed to the exact location where the monsters were reported last seen, by himself. 

Easy as pie. He didn’t need any help. 

His SOLDIER strength and strategy was enough.

Boy, was he wrong.

He managed to only destroy the baby Malboros which was half his size, tiny little creatures that fit in the palm of your hand.

What he did not anticipate was the gigantic tentacle of the mother Malboro digging underneath the concrete where he stood.

The sudden blow to his head and from the debris of shattered earth knocked him to the side, causing him to lose his grip on his Buster Sword.

It was too late for him to retaliate. As soon as he came to his senses, he was met with the deadly gas spurting out from the mouth of the monster toward him. 

Bad Breath was unavoidable and he inadvertently breathed in the poisonous fumes.

“Shit.”

He knew Bad Breath would inflict multiple status effects, but he had been cocky and decided not to stock up on remedies.

He was shit out of luck, as the gas knocked him out, blurring his vision to pitch black.

  
  


Cloud finally stirred awake after what seemed to be hours since his unfortunate battle with the Malboros.

To his puzzlement, his surroundings looked a lot bigger than he remembered.

_“W-what the hell?!”_ He expected his voice and actual words to come out but instead a soft mewl left his mouth.

Looking at the reflection of a murky puddle nearby, he was shocked to find himself looking at a cat with blonde fur. His belly area was slightly whiter and blended out with the blonde colors.

Aside from the mako colored eyes, an awfully familiar spiky chocobo styled mane was the key noticeable part of his features, mostly around the top of his head in between his two cat ears, which twitched. One ear flopped down, while the other was up. Then it switched.

Was this some sort of illusion? Or did he just straight up get turned into a damn cat?!

He had a fair share of getting turned into a Toad, and a simple Maiden’s kiss would do the trick.

But what the actual f*ck does one cure a cat status if remedies were not available? Would a remedy even work?

A clash of thunder roared through the sky and droplets of rain began falling.

“ _Crap, crap, crap!”_ He had seen cats in the rain before and they looked miserable. With his thick fur, it was not going to be fun running around wet. It was going to weigh him down.

To top it off, in this puny form, he won’t likely be able to drag his Buster Sword along. 

When he was inflicted with Toad, the sword would magically shrink with him.This time around however, he lost his Buster Sword right before he was attacked by the god awful Bad Breath. The sword was left intact, normal gigantic size, stuck underneath a rubble of broken concrete.

Growling at his own misfortune, Cloud scampered off hoping to find shelter.

What he really hoped was to find someone to help him. 

* * *

Tifa began to wonder about Cloud’s whereabouts. He should have returned from his quest rounds by now. She wandered aimlessly around where she last recalled seeing him and ended up trekking all the way to the Sector 7 train station.

She tried calling his cellphone but it went straight to voicemail. “That’s strange…He usually picks up on the second ring…”

Tifa happened to overhear one of the surviving Sector 7 citizens describe someone that matched Cloud dashing deep into the half destroyed Sector 7 slums.

He had to be nearby.

“Where are you Cloud?”

Tifa wandered around the dystopian town, calling out his name.

She stopped in her tracks right where her old Seventh Heaven bar used to stand. Her heart clenched at the burnt down bar, where she had so many memories of with Avalanche. 

Her one special memory she held close to her heart was reuniting with Cloud and the single yellow flower he gave her. It was long gone, buried underneath all the broken wood and bricks.

She was lost in a thought, imagining what it would be like now if the pillar and plates had not fallen.

A soft meow sound echoed from underneath the area where the stairs would have led up into the bar entrance broke her trance.

“Hmm…?”

Tifa took notice of the Mako colored eyes glowing in the darkness. A tiny blonde cat weakly crawled out toward her. He let out another mewl.

“Oh, you poor thing…”

Tifa could not bear to leave the animal alone, here where no one was around to protect it, especially with the rain and thunder coming soon. 

She had a penchant to pick up stray cats and bring home. 

The cat wore his face with an awfully familiar pout as soon as she picked him up into her arms.

She couldn’t help but pet his head, stroking the spikey Chocobo styled hair, “You remind me of someone…”

The cat meowed affectionately at Tifa, purring at her gentle touches and scratches.

Tifa took one last glance around town and let out a heavy sigh, “I guess Cloud isn’t here…”

She frowned for a split second before turning her attention back to the cat in her arms, 

“You think he’ll return home? Maybe I should have faith he will. He’s a strong guy. We should wait for him then, right?”

The cat answered back with another soft purr, as if it understood her.

Beaming at her new companion, Tifa turned back toward where she came from, “I know the perfect place for you little guy.”

* * *

Cloud was so relieved to reunite with Tifa. It was pure luck that she came upon him and he couldn’t be any more grateful for that. Perhaps it was fate. She had always found ways to him, saving him from danger in the knick of time.

But when she placed him in front of Wedge and his family of evil cats, his entire mood shifted. 

He was not at all happy.

The three cats narrowed their eyes, recognizing his scent and eyes of Mako and Jenova infused cells. The aura about him made them hiss in defense. Cats and Cloud never mixed well, even when he was a cat himself. 

Cloud now wore a rather grumpy look upon his feline features.

Wedge took notice of the Cloud’s grumpy look, “Awww, he must be hungry.” 

Pulling out a porcelain bowl of milk, Wedge pushed it in front of Cloud, “Go on, you can drink it. It’s just milk.”

Cloud glared at the bowl in silence, not budging an inch where he sat, close to Tifa’s side, _“Come on! What is this crap? I really need to get myself a remedy!”_

He looked around the room, which had barely any essentials aside from a mini-fridge, bed, table, and dressers. It was a small house that Wedge had rented in the Sector 5 slums.

There was no remedy in sight.

Tifa glanced forlornly out the window, “I’m getting really worried about Cloud. He hasn’t called back and the rain is coming down harder. What if he’s hurt?” 

Cloud pouted at her crestfallen face. He wanted so much to tell her that he was here. He was home. He returned home. Just in cat form,

“ _Tifa, I’m right here! I’m not hurt! Please, look at me_!” 

Of course only frantic meows came out. Cloud did everything he could to get her attention.

He pawed adorably at her shoes.

His tail swayed back and forth in excitement and he even rubbed his entire body across her legs.

Tifa looked down with puffy eyes, “oh, what’s the matter sweetie?”

_Sweetie._ The sound of her calling him that made him blush. He let out a soft purr instead.

“He didn’t drink his milk. Maybe he prefers drinking from a bottle…” Wedge suggested as he poured the milk into a bottle with a nipple.

Wedge attempted to pick up Cloud and give him the bottle, but Cloud refused to be held by the large man. Cloud clawed out of Wedge grasp with hiss and jumped straight into Tifa’s arms.

“Ouch! I guess he isn’t used to me. He seems to have taken a real liking to you though. Maybe you’ll have better luck.” Wedge handed Tifa over the bottle of milk.

Cloud narrowed his cat eyes at Tifa, “ _Tifa,_ if _you dare put that in my mouth, I swear I’ll—_ ”

“It’s ok, I got you. Shh…Don’t worry...” Her soothing voice calmed him just a little as she let the bottle go straight into his mouth.

Cloud had no other choice than to drink the milk, as Tifa helded him like a baby, rocking him back and forth in her arms. 

He gulped down the milk, his thirst for something to drink finally taking over him. He was about halfway done with the milk when Tifa placed a small kiss upon his furry crown.

“Who’s a little kitty?” She cooed with affection.

It was at that moment that a bright light surrounded Cloud’s body.

“What the heck?! What’s going on?!” Tifa exclaimed in surprise.

Wedge stood watching in awe while his three cats hid behind him in terror.

Cloud had returned to normal. He was human again, in his SOLDIER outfit. He could feel his hands and fingers, flexing them in excitement.

His voice returned as well to his relief. “Oh thank god.”

The combination of milk and a maiden’s kiss was the god damn cure all along...maybe? It was a coincidence that he returned to his human form after Tifa’s kiss and drinking the milk. He’d have to further research into this theory.

Tifa rubbed her eyes,not believing what she just saw, “C-Cloud? What happened? How did you...why…? I am so confused.”

Cloud scratched the back of his head and shrugged. He answered as briefly and to the point, “Bad Breath. Marlboros. Hojo experiment gone wrong.” 

Tifa jumped into Cloud’s arms, “I’m so glad you are alright! I knew there was something familiar about you..in cat form.”

Cloud returned Tifa’s hug, embracing her tightly for several seconds before pulling away, “I do **NOT** want to go through that again.” 

“Oh, that’s too bad. You were such a cute cat.” Tifa grinned as she stroked Cloud's hair gently, exactly how she did it when he was a cat.

Wedge chimed in agreement, “Oh you had such beautiful fine fur. You would have made a great show cat.”

Cloud threw Wedge a sour face. Somehow he ended up hissing at the Avalanche member.

“Ok, I nailed it as a cat. Can we move on?” 

He finally jumped to his feet and made his way out the door.

Tifa tugged him back by his wrist, “Wait, where are you going?” 

“I didn’t complete my mission. Still got some Hojo-mutant Malboros out there to hunt. Also need to get back my Buster sword.”

Cloud paused for a moment then decided to take a few milk bottles from Wedge’s mini fridge, “I’m going to need this. I’ll pay you back later.”

“Fine, but I’m coming with you this time!” Tifa pulled on her Purple Pain gloves and followed Cloud closely behind.

“Ok, but before I forget, let’s stock up on remedies too just in case.” Cloud knew better now then to fight any monsters without preparing first. He won’t make the same mistake twice.

With their combined teamwork, Cloud and Tifa were able to defeat the last of the mutant Malboros with ease.

Of course, right before the Marlboro fell to its death, it spewed one last Bad Breath. Cloud managed to dodge roll and avoid getting hit.

Tifa on the other hand, was unfortunately inflicted with the cat status effect.

She turned into a dark furry cat, with a long flowing tail, with a ribbon tied at the end. The end of the tail had a familiar dolphin split. Tifa stared up in utter confusion up at Cloud with her ruby colored eyes.

Cloud could not help but secretly admit how adorable she looked before giving her the milk cure. 

Nothing happened, even after she downed every last drop of the milk.

With a grin, Cloud placed a prince’s kiss upon Tifa’s cat-like nose.

Lo and behold, his theory was correct. Tifa immediately returned to her human form.


	13. Advertisement

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Cloud discovers a particular poster and asks Tifa about it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Final Fantasy, characters and everything associated with the Final Fantasy world belong to Square Enix.
> 
> Warnings: Please note that some of the stories will contain spoilers or reference to the original game, Advent Children, Dirge of Cerberus, Crisis Core and Remake. This chapter will also reference some characters from the official light novel: “Final Fantasy VII - The Kids are alright: A Turks story”.
> 
> Genre: Jealous Cloud, drama, romance, Tifa can do whatever she wants

During his afternoon breaks from deliveries, Cloud would often amble around the middle of Edge, and scan through the notice board next to the half-built Meteor monument. He found it quite surprising that the monument was built near to completion after Bahamut SIN destroyed half the city a few months ago.

Although nothing ever piqued any of Cloud’s interest, he still casually took a gander at any upcoming events or requests out of habit.

Today, nothing seemed to pop up. But then he had to do a double-take. Triple-take actually.

Slapped right in the middle was a 11x18 inch poster that caught his full attention. He could not believe what he was seeing. How in the world did this happen? Why did it happen? Who in the hell put this together?

Cloud ripped the poster off the board, and flipped over a few other newspaper clippings and papers to ensure there were no other similar flyers hidden behind.

He sped down the road on Fenrir, gathering all the posters he could find along the way.

Within the span of an hour, the doors to Seventh Heaven slammed opened. Cloud marched over the bar area and abruptly dropped a pile of the same posters down in front of Tifa.

The sudden whack of the papers hitting the marble bar top startled Tifa to drop the glass martini cup she was wiping down, “What the heck, Cloud?”

Cloud paid no mind to the broken glass and demanded some answers, “What is the meaning of **_this_ **?”

Tifa blinked in confusion as she picked up the broken pieces of glass and threw it in the garbage, “What are you talking about?”

Cloud pulled a poster from the top stack and tapped on it several times, hoping she would take notice of the monstrosity.

She finally glanced down and stared at what Cloud pointed at with her mouth agape.

He noticed her biting her bottom lip, and the way she twirled the lock of her hair that fell around her right shoulder. It was a sign that she knew something but didn’t want to let him know. 

After a pregnant pause, Tifa let out a heavy sigh.

“Nothing else to explain. It is what it is.” She stated, with a solemn face.

Cloud pursed his lips, “Don’t give me that bullshit answer. Tifa, how could you?”

Tifa gave him a casual shrug, one that mimicked his with the scratch behind the head when he didn’t know how to exactly answer. 

“Marketing purposes. It was Leslie’s idea.”

“Leslie? You mean the punk that used to work for Don Corneo?”

Tifa tried to convince Cloud of Leslie’s talents, “He’s a good kid and made good use of a camera. He’s quite the photographer, you should see the beautiful shots he took of Cos--” 

“Wait, he’s the one that took the photo?” Cloud interjected, his eyes now full of pure rage. 

He whipped his head around to locate the bastard who usually sat in the back corner with his buddies drinking boba tea. 

It was Leslie’s lucky day to live.

“Well...He also had help from Evan and Kyrie…Kyrie was the one that suggested the outfit.” Tifa basically just threw all three Mirelle Investigative Services fools under the bus.

“Evan was there too?!” He didn’t even mention Kyrie’s name. Cloud was now on the verge of flipping all the tables with his immense SOLDIER strength and breathing fire out of his mouth.

“What is the matter with you? So what if I’m on the poster? To be honest, I think it's a great innovative way to bring in new customers to Seventh Heaven!” Tifa defended, now ticked off at Cloud’s irrational behavior.

“To hell I’m going to allow **THIS** to be shown everywhere.” He stomped his feet, hoping to get the last word.

Tifa groaned and crossed her arms, “You didn’t have this problem with the outfit three years ago when we reunited in Sector 7.”

“That was a different time...” He subtly mentioned the journey they all went through with Avalanche, Shinra, Sephiroth, everything to the day Meteor almost crashed into Gaia.

It was becoming an argument that Tifa did not want to escalate any more than it should, especially with her bar full of customers and with Marlene, Denzel upstairs.

Tifa clenched her fists at her sides, wanting so much to punch this blonde idiot to his senses. 

Instead she pulled off her silver Fenrir ring, threw it at Cloud, and stormed off.

“I just can’t right with you right now!”

The loud slam of her bedroom door caused the stack of posters to topple over the table and scatter around Cloud's feet.

Cloud clicked his tongue and let out a frustrated sigh, “Well f*ck…”

He could not stand to see Tifa display herself like that, holding two large bottles of Vodka endorsing Cosmo Canyon and Gray Chocobo brand, as she leaned against what looked like the emerald green version of Fenrir, which also included a vinyl decal of the Seventh Heaven logo on the side.

She donned her familiar short black pleated skirt, black thigh-length stockings, red boots, suspenders and white tank top over her black sports bra. Her hair wasn’t as long as he remembered, but she had tied a ribbon near the end to show off that cute dolphin split.

In Cloud’s opinion, he found the poster a little too seductive. Tifa Lockhart looked like a car import model, too damn _fine_ to elicit unwanted attention and nasty perverts, something he did **_NOT_ **want.

He picked up one of the fallen posters and meticulously looked it over again. He slowly looked up and down her body, the curves, and the way the outfit fit perfectly on her.

To everyone else, it was just a regular advertisement for the grand re-opening of Seventh Heaven. Everything focused on the logo and alcohol. The graphical text also covered up most of the areas that were deemed too “sexy”.

An ordinary barmaid holding two bottles of alcohol. Ok, so maybe he blew everything out of proportion.

With a mental slap on the face, the spiky blonde ex-SOLDIER chased after the martial artist, clutching the ring in his palm.

He rolled his knuckles against her bedroom door and softly called out to her, “Tifa…?”

She opened the door after several minutes of silence and glared back at him, “If you’re here to lecture me about that damn poster, you can just--”

Cloud hastily took her hands and brought them up to his lips, “I’m sorry.”

Tifa pulled her hands and looked away to hide her blush, “Doing that won’t make me forget what a total idiot you are.”

“I can’t help it.” Here, Cloud pouted, hoping she would forgive him, “I’m being a ‘ _petty asshole jerk’_ again.”

Tifa let out a chuckle. Finally, the tension between them lifted.

“To the max.” She added with a soft smile, which suited her better than a scowl.

“So...Yeah, you want this back?” He held out the Fenrir ring.

“I don’t know, you gonna act like a big baby if I wear it the wrong way?”

Cloud scrunched his nose at her. Taking the ring back, Tifa began slipping it back on her right ring finger, but Cloud stopped her.

“Wait, it’s on the wrong finger.”

Tifa arched her brow, “Huh?”

With a wide grin, Cloud slipped the ring on the correct finger, where it should belong.


	14. Waiting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which everyone is off celebrating and enjoying the Chocobo-Moogle festival except for one special person.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I want to thank everyone who has taken the time to read, review, bookmark and gave Kudos for Connected Hearts since the beginning. I want to apologize for all the OCC depiction of each character, but I'm trying to challenge myself to write something once a day, something I have not done in a long time. Nevertheless, you are all awesome!
> 
> Disclaimer: Final Fantasy, characters and everything associated with the Final Fantasy world belong to Square Enix.
> 
> Genre: Fluff, family, romance  
> Warnings: Please note that some of the stories will contain spoilers or reference to the original game, Advent Children, Dirge of Cerberus, Crisis Core and Remake.

**~Waiting~**

Tifa zipped by three times, completely ignoring Cloud as she carried a hefty tray of food and mixed drinks to her customers.

Cloud had wanted just one minute with her to ask a question, but discovered it was near impossible. Perhaps it wasn’t a good time to ask now since Seventh Heaven was busier than normal.

This was the week everyone was celebrating the Chocobo-Moogle Festival. Reeve thought putting something new, fun and exciting together for the citizens of Edge would take their mind off the recent events from the Deepground Conflict.

It was just a poor excuse to operate his mechanical Cait Sith robot again to be honest.

Nevertheless, the festival was a big hit.

So Cloud left the bar, not wanting to bother Tifa. He decided to make a few rounds with the kids.

Denzel and Marlene were thankful that Tifa allowed them to take the rest of the week off from chores and helping around the bar to enjoy the festival. Barret even returned back from his trip early for a short bit to spend time with Marlene. 

Yuffie tagged along as well, hoping to get her hands on all the Chocobo-Moogle merchandise. She flaunted around in full cosplay gear, donning the snapback cap, graphic t-shirt, knee-length boots that matched the color and accessories of the cap, white shorts with an obnoxious belt that had the mascots in front and a Chocobo-Moogle backpack. She was the ultimate Chocobo-Moogle Queen.

This was also Shelke’s first time ever doing anything normal such as attending a family festival. She had wanted to stay back to help Tifa, but the barmaid forced her out, telling her that this would only come once a year. She would regret not going. 

Shelke could not be any happier, cracking a tiny smile and chuckling at the silly mascots bouncing around the street as children (and Yuffie) all surrounded them for autographs, pictures and requests for them to do the Chocobo-Moogle dance. She actually took interest in something for once.

Marlene and Denzel were eager to have Cloud come along for the day, pulling him left and right. Marlene wanted him to win her a pink stuffed Chocobo while Denzel requested for blue and green cotton candy. Barret snickered as he saw the two kids drag him everywhere through the festival. 

Who knew how exhausting it would be to keep up the pace of two overexcited kids, a loudmouth Wutai princess and a soft-spoken girl who never knew the word fun. Cloud loved every moment spent with his friends and family, but deep down, he lamented on the fact that Tifa was still stuck back at the bar, all by herself.

She had been so focused on getting extra supplies for the bar, plenty of food stocked up and ensuring that everything was set in place to make her job easier. This made it harder for Cloud and not give him the chance to ask her the one darn question that had been weighing him down all week.

Cloud would have asked earlier, but he had just decided to take the last weekend off in hopes of spending some time with the special people in his life.

  
It was almost sunset and he couldn’t stand it any longer. He finally made up his mind. He was going to do it. He waited long enough and this was going to be his last chance. He’d have to wait a full year for this opportunity if he didn’t do it now.

He could not stand to see Tifa _NOT_ enjoy _ANY_ of this. 

Cloud broke away from the group and let Barret know he was returning back to the bar to ‘rest up.’

With only a few more hours of the festival left, he pushed through the crowds toward Seventh Heaven.

When he finally made it to the bar, he immediately went straight to her, pulled her aside and told her to close down the bar for the night.

“But what about the customers? Who will serve them a nice cold refreshing drink or delicious food?”

“I don’t care about them.” Cloud straight up answered without hesitation. It was true, he didn’t care about half the men and women that came in and out of the bar. He cared only about Tifa and she deserved the night off just like everyone else.

Tifa playfully hit him across the arm, “That’s no way to speak about my customers.”

“One date. That’s all I ask for.” The bold question that he had been holding back all week finally came out. He just wanted one damn night with Tifa. He wanted to win her a stuffed Moogle and share strawberry flavored cotton candy with her.

“W-what?” Tifa gasped, taken back by the sudden request.

“No one is going to get mad at you for closing the bar early. They all can go to Johnny’s Heaven and give him more business. Let’s go.” Cloud was adamant on getting Tifa to stop being such a work-a-holic and give herself a damn break.

He helped Tifa close up shop and held her hand tightly in his, making sure she didn’t try to run back to re-open the bar.

She eventually gave up and loosened her tense shoulders. She finally interlaced her fingers with Cloud’s and allowed him to show her around the best parts of the festival.

“Hey...Want to go for a ride?” Cloud pointed at the bright colorful ferris wheel.

Pulling his arm closer to her body, Tifa rested her head on his shoulder and nodded with a smile, “Yeah, I’d love to.”

It was reminiscent of their date in Golden Saucer, with the beautiful display of fireworks in the starry night, but this time, Tifa sat next to Cloud and was able to convey her feelings to him without worry.

Cloud responded by wrapping his arms around her and kissing the top of her head, _“Me too.”_


	15. Light

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Cloud describes home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This was inspired by another discussion from CloTi discord and a quote about describing home.
> 
> Disclaimer: Final Fantasy, characters and everything associated with the Final Fantasy world belong to Square Enix.
> 
> Warnings: Please note that some of the stories will contain spoilers or reference to the original game, Advent Children, Dirge of Cerberus, Crisis Core and Remake. Also, I’m unfortunately running into a writer's block, so this piece may be very sappy and cliché.
> 
> Genre: Cliche, sappy, romance, home

It was just a simple question that was supposed to have a simple answer. 

But somehow, Cloud let himself ramble on to a complete stranger.

_The sound of her voice is the first thing he looks forward to, especially on the days he returns home late. Her voice is husky yet soothing, gentle whispers to his ears._

_He recalls the sweet fragrance of her after raspberry rain shampoo, when she pulls him into an embrace, letting his face bury deep into the curve of her neck._

_The way her fingers tangle through his locks before trailing down to brush the back of his neck and trace his face would cause tingles across his skin. He shudders, wanting to feel more than just her gentle touches._

_He loves to taste her soft lips, yearning for more than just a chaste peck. A sigh of content would escape between his teeth every time._

_He never felt more alive when he’s around her. Knowing she’s here gives him this sense of happiness, where her light always fills the gap in his heart and guides him through the darkness in his world._

The elderly woman before him that had asked the question for the sake of making conversation while signing for her package delivery, simply chuckled at his rather romantic ramblings.

“You silly boy, she sounds like a lovely girl but I only meant to ask where you live now?”

Cloud was quite embarrassed, having not realized that he spoke of something completely different than what was expected. Cloud had not intended to describe it that way. 

The words just spilled out like a waterfall. It just felt right to talk about home like that.

While Seventh Heaven was a home to him, a place to live, it really would not be the same without Tifa around. She was _home_ and Cloud would never doubt the road home. 

Everything always led back to her.

“Seventh Heaven in Edge.” He made sure to answer quickly and straight to the point this time.

“The one owned by Tifa Lockhart? Ahh, I see now.”

The elderly woman dropped a bag of gil in his palm and thanked him for delivering her package. Before she turned to head back to her house, she gave him a piece of advice,  
  


“You’re lucky to have someone like her, so don’t ever let her go.”

That was a phrase he was often told. The first time he heard those particular words was from a local Doctor in Mideel. He didn’t give it much thought then.

Cloud gave the elderly woman a grin, “I don’t intend to.”

“Good, because if you do anything to break her heart, I’m going to tell Marle.”

Good god, this woman knew Marle? He would never hear the end of it from Marle if even a single tear fell from Tifa’s lovely eyes.

He had Tifa shed enough tears for him over the years and it took him so long to realize just how important she was to him.

Cloud did not intend to break Tifa’s heart.

He was far from ever doing that. 

Not anytime soon.

Never again. 

When he returned home later that evening, Tifa was there as always, greeting him with a tender smile, 

“Welcome home, Cloud.”

Cloud slipped his arms around her waist and pulled her close, her body fitting perfectly like a puzzle to his. 

It had become somewhat of a routine now, the way he felt when he came home to her. Breathing in everything about her and kissing her from top to bottom was satisfying.

“I’m home.”


	16. Drink

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Cloud and Tifa share a passionate night together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Final Fantasy, characters and everything associated with the Final Fantasy world belong to Square Enix.
> 
> Warnings: Please note that some of the stories will contain spoilers or reference to the original game, Advent Children, Dirge of Cerberus, Crisis Core and Remake. 
> 
> Rating has been updated to M as this chapter will include lime...maybe borderline lemon. I don't get too detailed as I'm not that good at writing limes/lemons...so sorry for the bad lemon.
> 
> Genre: Straight up love-making

" _Beautiful_."

He was not talking about the Cosmo Canyon drink.

He admitted the mixed drink did taste good, and she gave him a nice little show of her bartending skills, twirling about in that awfully short black skirt. She was indeed a professional.

No, It was never about the drink.

The drink was just the beginning of it all.

It was about the way she squirmed beautifully underneath him as she sighed his name multiple times into his neck, " _Cloud…_ "

She fit perfectly in his arms, as he devoured her smooth skin. He growled, the animal instinct overtaking him.

Tifa tried to choke back a scream, hoping that their sinful night together didn't elicit too much noise to bother their neighbors.

Stargazer Heights could be full of people and thin walls and Cloud didn't have a damn care in the world about it. He only cared about dipping his mouth underneath her skirt and tasting the sweetness between the folds he yearned for.

With several flicks of his tongue, Tifa's head turned furiously back and forth upon her lavender colored frilly silk pillow.

She let out a whimper as Cloud trailed kisses up her thigh, to the top of her stomach, then to her collarbone.

Cloud was gentle and careful with each stroke and gesture upon Tifa, going as slowly as he could, as if she was a delicate doll. He knew very well that she could easily break his neck by wrapping her legs around it and giving it a good twist if she wanted to.

She let him explore every curve of her body, pulling off the layers of her clothing one by one. He kept her skirt and long thigh-length black socks on though, which she found odd. She questioned him about it in between moans and Cloud answered her with a mischievous smirk.

Tifa wrapped her legs around his waist and let his muscled body rock slowly against her. She threaded her fingers through his slick blonde locks, as she tried to keep up with the rhythm between them.

Cloud was lost in euphoria, never wanting to let this end. His fingers intertwined tightly with Tifa's as he nibbled her bottom lip.

"Tifa!" He screamed her name incoherently at the top of his lungs and let his head snap back as he went wild, gaining momentum with each deep thrust into her.

There was no point in going slow and gentle anymore. She allowed him to go further, begged him in such a way that made him go insane.

Tifa's bed creaked across the floorboards and thumped against the wall. The sound of their lovemaking echoed throughout the room.

He was now slamming her from behind at the foot of her bed, arching at the perfect angle to hit the right spots. He pulled back her dark long flowing hair to the side and left bite marks upon the curve of her neck.

Tifa was sobbing, as the second thrilling ride kept her at the edge of ecstasy.

She begged him again, " _Don't stop._ " Rougher this time. She can handle it.

Cloud obliged to her requests, picking her up so that her back hit the wall. The only way holding her up was his sweat-slicked body pressed closely against hers, where they both could feel each other's rapid beating hearts.

He touched his forehead to Tifa's and gazed longingly at her ruby like eyes.

Tifa noticed his Mako eyes didn't show the piercing glare of a SOLDIER or mercenary but of the look of soft-spoken boy next door she remembered back in Nibelheim.

"I…"

She couldn't say it. It was too soon. They really had not intended for the night to end like this, and perhaps the drink had triggered something.

Deep in the back of Tifa's mind, she was afraid this was just a drunken passion, and tomorrow, they would go back to normal, as if this never happened.

It was in that moment that Cloud gasped those words she longed to hear against her lips. He whispered each word earnestly, reminding her that it would take more than one shot to make him tipsy.

Cloud would never lie to her. She trusted him with her whole heart.

They continued on through the night whispering sweet nothings to each other.

Life was just too short to not express this burning desire they had for each other since their childhood. They wanted to share this moment together, their hearts connected as one.


	17. Are you challenging me?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Tifa and Cloud dance the night away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I am so glad to meet so many wonderful people from the CloTi discord server. They give me so much advice and encouragement to continue this. Story mostly inspired by kabrewski's wonderful headcanon. Dedicated to kabrewski crazyEevee and kei for giving me great ideas.
> 
> I am also running into writer's block, so updates may be sporadic. Sorry!
> 
> Disclaimer: Final Fantasy, characters and everything associated with the Final Fantasy world belong to Square Enix.
> 
> Warnings: Please note that some of the stories will contain spoilers or reference to the original game, Advent Children, Dirge of Cerberus, Crisis Core and Remake.
> 
> Sorry if it's a little OOC and not up to expectations of the headcanon. I tried my best.
> 
> Genre: Humor, fun times at Gold Saucer, drunk CloTi, romance, friendship, Tifa can't dance

As graceful as Tifa looked when she executed her quick _Starshower_ punches or devastating _Divekicks_ , truth be told, she was a horrible dancer and extremely uncoordinated.

She was even worse when she was drunk, especially after one too many shots of Green Midgar tequila.

Tifa could not do the simple _Electric de Chocobo Slide_ without slipping into a full on split. When attempting to do the _Moogle Shuffle_ , she would unwittingly bump into Cloud or stomp on his feet.

Several times.

Cloud didn't mind all the missteps though, simply because Tifa was having the time of her life. She was actually enjoying the thrum of techno beat music and the laser lights flashing all around.

It was a wild side Cloud had never seen from Tifa before, opposite of her typically shy attitude.

He liked how carefree she was as she spun in circles in her short blue skirt and waved her arms maniacally, trying to keep in sync to the music, dancing the night away.

Tifa tried to drag him into dancing with her, but he didn't show much interest aside from the occasional head bobbing and bending of his knees.

When she stumbled into him for the seventh time that night, Cloud immediately pulled her up close to his body to steady her, resting his right palm on her bare back while the other wrapped tightly around her right arm.

She gazed up at him with those lovely ruby orbs.

Cloud wanted to tilt his head in and capture those perfect pink lips.

This would have been a perfect opportunity, had Tifa not ruined the mood by cracking a silly grin and pulled away to focus back to what she was doing.

Several red " _Miss_ " and " _Too bad!_ " text popped up, one after the other. The sounds of a booing crowd echoed in the background of the song.

Cloud chuckled at her failed attempts and finally confessed to Tifa about her god awful dancing, "Look Teef, I can't lie to you. You are so bad at this. Maybe this dance game isn't right for you."

The words _'Gold Saucer Para-Dance Revolution_ ' flashed on and off on the big screen in front of them, before switching to ' _Insert 12 GP to continue..._ '

Tifa scrunched her nose at his comment and lightly poked him in the chest, "Well then why don't give this a try? I haven't seen you bust a groove yet."

Cloud rested his hands on her shoulders, "That's because I have to make sure you don't hurt yourself. You can barely stand."

Tifa casually booped Cloud on the nose, "I am perfectly fine, thank you very much."

The reddish glow on her face told him otherwise.

"Let's go try a different game we can both enjoy or maybe even go for a relaxing ride on the Ferris Wheel if you want." Cloud suggested.

He attempted to take a hold of Tifa's hand and drag her back to Gold Saucer's Wonder Square, but she pulled back to keep him from leaving.

"Oh come on Cloud. I'd love to see you dance!" Tifa paused for a moment and then smirked, "Are you scared that you can't beat my score?"

Cloud stared up at the relatively low score she ranked on the VR dance simulator screen. Surprisingly enough, she actually made it in the very bottom place.

He contemplated if he was up for the challenge or too buzzed to play.

"So Cloud, what will it be?"

Cloud glanced back and forth between Tifa and the game.

With the way Tifa practically begged him with those puckered lips, her index finger resting innocently underneath her chin, he couldn't back down now.

She cocked her head to the side, "Dance off?"

With an overconfident smile, Cloud inserted 12 GP into the slot machine that stood in the middle of the stage. 

The entire room lit up around them, as colorful swirls of lights flew from all different directions. Eventually a triangle, circle, x and square came into view, with bright glowing rings contracting into the shapes to indicate when to initiate the dance move.

"Fine. Maybe I can teach you a thing or two."

Tifa beamed and clapped her hands together happily, "Ok, coach. Show me your best moves."

Cloud started off slow, trying to get into the groove of this new VR dance simulator.

When he finally got the gist of it, it was as easy as swinging his Buster Sword.

This dance simulator was barely even a week old since it made its debut at Gold Sauced and already, Cloud had racked the highest score on the leaderboard.

Tifa cheered Cloud on, fascinated by the number of colorful ' _Perfect_ ' and ' _Great_ ' he managed to accumulate. Her eyes watched his every move, so in sync to the beats, as if he had done this before.

The way he elegantly swayed his hips, moved his foot in sequence, arms outstretched and hair flipping gorgeously like he was in a boy band made Tifa slightly swoon.

He reeled her onto the stage somewhere in the middle of the second song, and guided her from behind, sliding his hand around her waist so that he could grind his hips along to her body movements.

She was finally getting the knack of it.

Cloud took a whiff of her perfume, placing a soft kiss on the curve of her neck, while he continued to grind her from behind. The song he picked this time was a club mix, very suited to the dance moves he was trying to teach Tifa.

Tifa leaned onto him, turning her head so that it allowed her to see the lewd expression on Cloud's face.

He took her by surprise by spinning her around and forced her into a salsa dip. Without hesitation Cloud tasted her Tifa’s, smearing the pink lipstick she wore and taking her breath away.

Luckily, they were in a private VR room, where it was just the two of them on stage. They didn’t have to worry about anyone throwing disgusted looks at their rather public display of affection.

When the song finally finished a minute later, they pulled apart.

Tifa was in a daze, trying to take in everything that just happened, "Wow, where did you learn to be so good at this?"

An eerily familiar show tune song began playing from the game's random selection of songs.

Memories of Wall Market and the ludicrous dance performance with Andrea at the Honey Bee Inn flashed through Cloud's mind.

A smile dangled at the corner of Cloud's lips, "It's a secret."

Tifa did not press him any further and slowly traced circles on his chest with her fingernails, "Care to show me more of those dance moves, coach?"

"Gladly."

Another 12 GP was inserted into the slot machine.


	18. Memory

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Cloud keeps a photo of her in his wallet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Inspired by yet another headacanon from CloTi discord server. I get all my inspiration there, so thanks to everyone there!
> 
> Disclaimer: Final Fantasy, characters and everything associated with the Final Fantasy world belong to Square Enix.
> 
> Warnings: Please note that some of the stories will contain spoilers or reference to the original game, Advent Children, Dirge of Cerberus, Crisis Core and Remake.
> 
> Genre: Fluff, romance, adoration for many years, that girl in the photo

There are times when Cloud would take a quick peek to remind himself the entire reason why he was here.

The semi-blurry Polaroid photo that he had tucked away in his wallet kept him sane during the darkest days. 

He would find himself stroking and tracing her cheery smile. She was looking over her shoulder, tucking a few locks of her hair blowing in the wind behind her ear.

To Cloud’s recollection, it was a warm breezy summer when he took the candid picture of a young Tifa Lockhart. The dress she wore that day was the color of aqua blue. She had matching blue sandals as well. 

He tried to be slick, and took as many as he could before she or anyone else would notice, but only ended up mostly at the back of her head. Every other photo was blurry or had someone else's body part in the way.

It would have been easier to just ask her for a photo, but it would just make him seem creepy. 

She would have asked for an explanation.

So he pretended that he was taking pictures of the scenery while the group of friends walked around town.

In truth, it was partially because he wanted a memory of her when he went away to join the Shinra Military Academy.

  
He was going to become a SOLDIER. The best of the best. Even better than Sephiroth.

The other stupid boys in her circle of friends were with them at the time, so he didn’t feel obligated to let everyone else know his intentions. 

He only wanted to tell Tifa alone, because he knew damn well the others were going to belittle him, _‘Hah! Scrawny lil’ Strife boy wants to join SOLDIER?”_

Cloud recalled the day he finally had the courage to tell her to meet by the water tower. He shared his heart and dreams to her, and they made a promise under the starry night skies.

He’d come save her for sure, when that time came.

The days ahead at the Shinra Military Academy were excruciating. At least it was seven years ago.

23-year old Cloud still held onto the photo in his wallet.

During his late night deliveries, when he stopped for a break, he would pull it out and gaze upon it. The photo was now old with worn torn yellowed edges. One would think to throw it out, but he cherished it too much.

It was a reminder that she was the entire reason he was here today. She was always the one by his side during their rocky journey to save the world from Meteor, the second rise of Sephiroth and the Deepground Conflict.

Most of all, she was the entire reason why he joined SOLDIER. Without that drive, he wouldn’t have met Zack, Aerith, or any of their comrades.

As tragic as his journey was, he knew if things were different then, she would still be there, cheering him on.

The memory of her cheery smile as she turned to him that summer day and whispering his name made his heart swell with joy.

_“Cloud, you slowpoke. Stop taking pictures already and hurry up!”_

  
  


One day, when Tifa was grabbing clothes to do the laundry, Cloud had forgotten his wallet in one of his pant pockets.

When she pulled his wallet, the photo slipped out.

Tifa was shocked to find such a photo in Cloud’s belongings. Without hesitation, she approached Cloud about it, dropping his wallet on his desk and waving the photo around his face, “Why do you have a photo of me in your wallet?”

Cloud snatched the photo out of Tifa’s fingers and tried to hide the blush on his face.

This was the discussion he had avoided to answer all these years. He had hoped she would never find out.

“I forgot I had it. I had it since I left for the Shinra Military Academy and took a photo of you when we were still living in Nibelheim.” 

Forgetting he had it was a lie, as he took the photo out almost every single night to gaze upon it. But everything else was the truth.

Tifa didn’t push any further and gave him that same cheery smile that he adored.


	19. Words

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Cloud reminds Tifa of the conversation they had under the Highwind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Final Fantasy, characters and everything associated with the Final Fantasy world belong to Square Enix.
> 
> Warnings: Please note that some of the stories will contain spoilers or reference to the original game, Advent Children, Dirge of Cerberus, Crisis Core and Remake.
> 
> Here’s another bad cliche attempt at a lemon and angst, followed by a cheesy ending. Enjoy!
> 
> Genre: Angst, love-making, drama

Tifa once asked him if he loved her.

When he stirred in his sleep, her heart raced. She was anxious of the answer he would give her.

In an instant she twisted the words and made it about Marlene.

Tifa never brought up again. 

Things were going well until she discovered his secret. The illness he had been hiding from her and the family.

She hated the fact that he left them to fight Geostigma and live in Aerith’s church alone.

They were a team, a unit. How could he push her away? She had thought they were stronger together, and had hoped he leaned on her more often.

Her heart ached, like a dagger had stabbed it several times.

But she held on strong for the kids and their comrades. At least when she was around them.

At night, she would often find herself wandering toward his dark, cold empty bedroom and quietly sob into his pillow for hours on end.

The faint scent of Cloud lingered, a combination of rose and white musk.

She was exhausted, unable to have a good night's sleep. The little makeup she used was enough to hide the dark circles under underneath her eyes

He had given her his answer in the most cruelest way possible.

* * *

It was only days after he had been healed.

Tifa could still barely look him in the eyes, even though they had a brief heart to heart about family, even when he told her he felt lighter now and had given that genuine smile she had not seen in so long at the church.

Days when he finally took it upon himself to actually talk about where they stood in their dysfunctional relationship.

Would it even be called dysfunctional if there was really anything between them at all?

She wasn’t ready for this. It was too soon and she just couldn’t bear the heartache again.

Cloud had abandoned her before.

She was afraid the moment she accepted happiness with him again, it would be ripped away in an instant.

“Tifa, please...I’m sorry, I really am.”

He had apologized many times before but most of them didn’t hold any meaning. He’d always that stupid scratch behind his head and give her a nonchalant shrug.

This time, Cloud stepped forward and cupped her face with his trembling hands, stroking her lips with his thumbs. 

His mako eyes bore into her glistening orbs. No shrug or half-assed apologies.

She fought back the tears welling up as Cloud’s face inched closer. She could feel his breath tickle her skin.

_ “Don’t kiss me unless you mean it.” _

The tears fell uncontrollably.

She wanted to push away, but the moment he captured her lips, her body froze.

She didn’t have the energy to fully fight back. 

He tasted her salty tears, butterfly kisses from her forehead, to her cheekbone and to her neck.

His fingers played with her long tresses as a soft moan escaped from her throat.

Before she knew it, Cloud had hoisted her up on his work desk. The items that were strewn on top slid to the floor: notepads, papers, receipts, pens, photo frames, Aerith’s flowers and other knick-knacks. Cloud didn’t care.

He simply wanted to keep his lips locked with hers while wedging himself between her legs. 

His kisses are now fervent now. His hands trailed up and down her thighs.

Tifa did not recall when he had unzipped her black leather top off or when he lifted her white t-shirt up. Her bra unhooked with ease and was pushed up as well to expose her chest.

He traced his knuckles across her faint scar before trailing chaste kisses from the very right tip, to the bottom left.

He remembered the day Sephiroth had given it to her, and how much rage filled him that day.

Tifa did not deserve such an ugly scar, he told her between each kiss. She  shuddered, wincing at the phantom pain with each touch of his lips.

Cloud apologized to her over and over. 

He reminded her of the words she once told him under the Highwind before the final battle at the Northern Crater.

_ “ _ _ Words aren't the only way to tell someone how you feel." _

He reminded her of the throes of passion in the Chocobos stable, how he had ached for a moment like that again.

It was the only time felt at ease, even when the world was near its end.

Tifa let out a gasp when he pushed her further against the desk, her back hitting the adjacent wall. He nibbled at her earlobe, his teeth grazing gently across her skin. 

His mouth eventually found their way back to her chest and covered her right breast, tongue flicking and sucking her nipple.

He told her that all the pain he caused, all the shit he has put her through these last 2 years were his own fear of losing the people most important to him.

Fear of failing her, Marlene, Denzel and everyone else.

This was a miserable man who had escaped the brink of death multiple times, had been experimented on and lost four years of his precious life, fallen into an identity crisis with false memories, and letting the darkness and guilt eat at him.

Geostigma was just the tip of the iceberg. It was difficult to make the decision to leave in the first place.

Cloud does not hesitate to pour out his feelings, the one thing Tifa only wished for.

Her tears still trickled down her cheeks as he stroked his fingers against her sacred folds.

Tifa was too lost in the moment to notice the little things he did to her.

His actions were blurred by his constant reminders of the things he wished he could have done better, of the things he wanted to do with her now and in the future.

His pants were low and soothing to her ears, as he whispered his never ending list of wishes. He wanted her to hear it all, to let her know that everything he wanted was to be with her.

Cloud was already inside her by the time Tifa’s tears had dried up. She didn’t know when it happened because it still looked like his pants were still on. It hung loosely around his hips, as he slowly slid in and out of her.

He wanted this. As often as they could. He’d take job deliveries around the area, closer the city. The long journeys around the continent would only be a rare occasion.

He wanted to feel her close to him every night if could. Only if Tifa agreed to it. At the back of her mind, she wanted it just as much as he did too.

These were the things he never really told her during the last two years they’ve lived under the same roof.

When Cloud began the acceleration of his thrusts, Tifa muffled the screams of his name into his chest.

His grunts were short, her name barely escaping his lips. With each choked back sigh, Cloud never once closed his eyes or looked away while he made bittersweet love to her.

He looked over her beautiful red flushed face, strings of hair sticking to her skin.

His clothes had soon become too hot to wear, sticky from his sweat and too itchy.

He pulled off his shirt without stopping his relentless pounds into her, letting the clothing fall to the heap on the floor with the rest of her clothes and items from his desk.

Cloud could tell that Tifa was hesitant at first, trying to fight him off. He had to hold her down with his fingers gripping her wrists tightly.

He had wanted her to know this was more than just a whirlwind of emotions. 

This may have been the primary reason for this lustful moment between them, but his kisses meant everything.

His words were not just empty like before.

The bottom of the desk scooted across the floor, and something cracked. The desk was on the verge of collapsing, but that did not stop him from quickly rolling his hips against hers. 

He would just have to build another desk later.

Tifa had already allowed him more room and leverage by wrapping one leg around his upper waist and the other hung loosely over his shoulder.

There were so many more unspoken words. Tifa had reminded him of the days of their childhood, how she thought of him everyday since he left to become a Shinra SOLDIER.

How much she had admired him since he promised to become her hero.

He had nearly forgotten that she felt that way about him. Had let himself drown in guilt and sorrow to see what was truly there. He had met her again in the lifestream. All was going well until he had lost her again when he was inflicted with Geostigma.

After all is said and done today, they were one again, laughing and crying together. 

It was now that they were able to meet again, to forget everything and let their feelings show through this moment of euphoria.

“Shit, Teef, I’m about to—”

He was about to pull out but Tifa did want to let him go. She did not want this to end this so soon. 

“No, don’t stop! Please...”

Cloud’s movements became erratic as he tried his best to keep on a while longer.

When he released his seed, letting everything spill inside of her, Tifa finally allowed herself to cry out, Cloud’s name echoing from his room. It was loud enough to be heard from the bar downstairs. 

Fortunately it was just the two of them alone. They would not need to explain to Marlene and Denzel about the  _ ‘shouting match _ ’ and  _ ‘practice fighting _ ’ between Cloud and Tifa.

The desk was not holding on much longer as another crack sounded.

Fearful of crashing down and causing unnecessary injury, with the last of his strength, Cloud blindly moved them both over to his twin size bed in the corner.

Tifa’s lush frame nestled against his. They were both still breathless from their extravagant exercise.

He felt much lighter now. Much more so than when he told her right before the final battle with Bahamut Sin.

He was not letting her go this time and whispered that he would never leave her again. 

It was a promise he sealed with a kiss, which he placed upon the crown of her head.

Cloud held onto her and watched her sleep peacefully for the first time in months.

He soon followed, exhaustion taking over him. He didn’t have any worries holding him down either.

* * *

  
  
It was in the middle of the afternoon, a slow day at the bar and three months since they had reconciled.

Tifa was collecting all the dirty dishes left by the last customer when the bar’s phone landline ringed.

Upon hearing his voice on the other end, and the faint sound of Fenrir’s engine roaring in the background, Tifa’ lips formed a saccharine smile.

“Hey, can you close up the bar early today?”

The request from Cloud was a first for Tifa and it made her heart swell with joy. She was deep in thought to their last three months together that she actually forgot to answer him.

“Tifa?”

Tifa snapped back to reality and quickly answered, “Yes, of course, only if you tell me why.”

Although he spoke calmly, Tifa could hear a hint of excitement in his voice,

“Let’s go on a journey together, just for the weekend, you and me. I found a nice mountain side with wild flowers. You’ll love it.”

That was one of the many first wishes he had told her about when he had her pinned down on his work desk.

She agreed without further hesitation, already prepping her luxury one of a kind  _ Andrea Rhodea _ travel bag.

“Oh, and Teef, don’t forget to pack extra blankets. We’re going for a  **_wild ride_ ** .”

Tifa bit her lip in anticipation at Cloud’s innuendo.

He had begun a new habit of telling her bad pickup lines and hints whenever he wanted to sink himself deep into her again.

It was something she had become accustomed to with this newfound bond between them.

“I can’t wait.”


	20. Playing the melody

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Tifa tries to play the piano perfectly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hi all! Thanks again for taking the time to read, review and send kudos for Connected Hearts here. I am going to take a break for a bit to concentrate on the CloTi/Zertih Endless Summer 2020 prompt event. I hope to be back soon and get out more updates. I am going to get all 100 themes finished, eventually. I am determined!
> 
> Disclaimer: Final Fantasy, characters and everything associated with the Final Fantasy world belong to Square Enix.
> 
> Warnings: Please note that some of the stories will contain spoilers or reference to the original game, Advent Children, Dirge of Cerberus, Crisis Core and Remake. 
> 
> Genre: Childhood fluff

The first time Tifa met Cloud, she was only five and half years old, with shoulder length dark chocolate hair and a toothy smile. 

Tifa approached him with excitement, curtsying in her cream colored lace dress and then shooting out her hand for a handshake, greeting the new kid in town,

“Hi, I’m Tifa, nice to meet you!”

Cloud had cerulean blue eyes and obnoxious spiky blonde locks, a unique feature only he had. She was mesmerized, almost tempted to step forward and tug on his gravity defying spikes. 

How did he get it to go like that? It didn’t even look like he was using hair gel.

His calm demeanor shocked her when he spoke softly and told her something about the nimbus clouds in the sky.

It was quite an awkward introduction, as she found herself scratching her head, not sure how to actually talk to him then. 

She didn’t know much about nimbus clouds and didn’t pay much attention to science in school all that much. 

Fortunately, it was just a brief introduction to the new neighbors and she waved goodbye to him. 

Cloud waved back sheepishly.

Tifa did not realize until a few days later that what he was telling her was simply his name.

_ Cloud? What a weird name.  _ The other kids teased him for that.

Although the name was weird, she liked how it rolled easily off her tongue.

Cloud was quite the shy boy in contrast to the rowdy boys she knew. He was quiet around others and stayed mostly at home, secluded from the rest of the children or stuck closely to Mrs. Strife, his mother.

The other kids took offense as he rarely played with anyone and usually kept quiet. It looked like he just gave them a cold shoulder.

Tifa wouldn’t believe any of the kids though. She often found herself having long conversations with him. She’d be doing the talking most of the time, and he’d throw in a few replies here and there, usually one or two short words.

The thing about Cloud that made him, well Cloud, was that he listened. The other kids always talked about silly things or played pretend knights and Princesses, tag or whatever silly children games they were into nowadays.

These were the things that didn’t really matter to Tifa as much, but she was taught to always respect others, listen and play nicely.

Cloud on the other hand, liked to listen to her talk. There were things and habits that Tifa shared only with him, mostly because he didn’t make a big deal about it like all the other boys.

Unbeknownst to her at the time, he admired her piano playing, listening to the calm melodies of each porcelain key her dainty fingers pressed down upon. 

To be honest, Tifa wasn’t very good yet as she just started learning. She wasn’t ready to let anyone hear her play, not until she absolutely nailed it down.

He was her next door neighbor, and he would often sit on the top floor bay window, which overlooked her house.

There was quite a distance between them, but he could still see her and hear her play Erik Satie’s  _ ‘Gymnopédie No.1’.  _

Tifa only knew the beginning chords, but she practiced it everyday until she got it perfect. It was mama’s favorite song and she wanted to get it just right in time for her parent’s anniversary.

She would sometimes glance over her shoulder for a brief second to look out the window.

As soon as her head turned, Cloud squirmed and disappeared from view. Over the years, Tifa never took notice of him secretly admiring her from afar. She always had her windows open, enjoying the nice cool breeze of the Nibelheim weather. It never got too cold or too hot.

Tifa continued focusing on her piano playing but every now and then, she would mess up on her chords and she would get frustrated. It was quite embarrassing as it was such an easy song to learn. She was quite the advanced piano player for someone her age, but she just couldn’t hit the right notes.

It just didn’t sound perfect to her ears. As soon as she hit a flat key, she’d start over. Even when she was near the end, one flat and she’d go back to the beginning.

Tifa was so frustrated that she gave up piano playing for a few days.

Cloud of course was the only one that noticed her crestfallen look, even when she held up a beaming smile and kept on laughing at everything around her friends.

It was always Cloud who paid every little detail about her that most people didn’t notice.

Tifa wasn’t always the perfect girl everyone thought she was. She may have many friends, and looked to have the perfect life. She had just turned 8 years old this year. Her mother had also gotten very ill recently, which added on to the pressure of helping more around the house and caring for her mother.

She pushed herself.

One day, Cloud finally confessed that he had been listening to her play all these years and had the courage to tell her to not give up. “I can see how much you enjoy playing the piano. You play the song flawlessly.”

Tifa perked up slightly upon hearing those words, “Really? You’re just saying that to be nice. Be honest with me.”

He’d always avoided looking at her straight in the eyes but this time, his eyes didn’t waver. 

It was adorable really, but she’d never admit that to him.

“I think your mom would love to hear it.” Cloud told her with a reassuring nod, “And...I’d want to hear you play again too.” His voice was soft and quiet here, but Tifa could hear him loud and clear.

He had finally opened up to her. It was a step, and it made her ecstatic.

Tifa had tried again. She couldn’t help it though. She was a perfectionist, a habit that she found hard to break out of.

But she played with less tense shoulders, as she glanced over to find those cerulean eyes staring into her window from across the house. She didn’t mind that Cloud watched her play.

She had learned many years later from her Martial arts teacher that perfection was impossible to achieve. Hard work took practice which came with failing and learning.

Mama had long forgotten how to smile since she fell ill. But the day of her parent’s anniversary, Tifa played proudly, and continued on when she heard one or two flats.

Mama finally smiled just slightly and kissed Tifa on the crown of her head, “Beautiful, my sweet angel of Nibelheim. Just beautiful. Please continue to play the song for Mama.”

Tifa played the song again and again until Mama got tired for the day.


	21. Vacation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Tifa hates the cold weather.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: You may have noticed something new. I changed my pen name from x-cry to aziantearz. I wanted to update and use the same username all across my art/fanfic accounts. I previously promised to return to writing after I finished the CloTi/Zerith Endless Summer 2020 event, but honestly, I fell into a writer's block. I have been drawing a lot more during my free time. Please check out my twitter when you have a chance! Just search for @aziantearz 
> 
> I appreciate those who have been with me on this silly 100 theme challenge since the beginning, and waiting patiently for the next one. 
> 
> This one is a bit short and unfortunately updates will be sporadic. I will try my best to get the next one out soon! Thanks everyone! 
> 
> Disclaimer: Final Fantasy, characters and everything associated with the Final Fantasy world belong to Square Enix.
> 
> Warnings: Please note that some of the stories will contain spoilers or reference to the original game, Advent Children, Crisis Core, Dirge of Cerberus and Remake.
> 
> Genre: Family, fluff

The Icicle Lodge inn and the cold heavy snow wasn’t exactly what Tifa had in mind for a vacation. She preferred the warm climate and clear blue waters of Costa Del. 

But Tifa couldn’t complain though. It was a thoughtful surprise from Barret, who pulled a lot of effort to put together this family vacation, getting the “ _ Package deal of the century _ ” and something about the owner owing him a favor. They all  **_ needed  _ ** this, especially Marlene and Denzel. Cloud also hinted at wanting to take a break from deliveries and Edge as well.

The moment they settled in to their Lodge suite, Marlene and Denzel dashed off for the new  Moogle-Chocobo café shop in the center of town, dragging Barret along. They hoped to get a taste of the marshmallow hot chocolate with cute foam art before the shop closed. 

Tifa and Cloud decided to roam the gift shop, scavenging for some trinkets to bring back home.

Despite finally being inside someplace warmer, away from icy wind blowing the snow into her face, Tifa’s body still trembled from the coldness. It took her a bit longer than normal to adjust to the changing temperature. 

She tried to keep active, bending her knees up and down and rubbing her arms with her  periwinkle cotton mittens.

“Tifa, you alright over there?” Cloud placed a gentle hand on Tifa’s back.

With her teeth chattering obnoxiously loud, she managed a nod, “I’ll be fine as soon as I get a sip of that hot chocolate.”

Cloud glanced back at the café shop and noticed a long line of people wrapping around the corner. In the distance, the Wallace family plus Denzel were near the end of the line. The trio waved back to them excitedly. 

Barret, with a cheeky smile, held tightly onto Marlene who was sitting on top of his shoulders. Denzel was hanging off of Barret’s right arm like a monkey, something he loved to do whenever Barret visited. 

“Looks like it’s going to be a while.”

It could be another fifteen or twenty so minutes before any type of hot drink would arrive in her hands. Tifa She could endure it. She had gone through worse.

She tugged her faux hooded parka tighter and tucked her hands underneath her armpits. She’d seen Cloud and Denzel do this all the time, so maybe it would help.  _ Maybe. _

“I can wait.”

She cracked a half re-assuring smile up at Cloud and turned back toward the aisle of miniature  snow globes . One caught her eye, which it reminded her of her hometown  Nibelheim .

She expected the spikey blond to shrug off her answer as usual and continue moseying about, but instead, she felt his  strong arms warp around her from behind. He then brought her almost frost-bitten hands to his lips, blowing warm kisses to her fingers.

It was a sweet gesture, but Cloud of all people was not the type to show such  _ affection. _

"C-Cloud?” 

Without another word, he pulled half of his long green wool scarf—hand knitted by Tifa and Marlene — off from his neck and gently wrapped it around Tifa, pulling her closer to his body.

Cloud mumbled into her hair, “Always trying to act all tough. You know you don’t have to around me. If you’re cold, just let me know."

Tifa could finally feel the warmth returning to her body, even able to finally bend her fingers and squeeze his arms, “Thank you Cloud.”

It was quite comforting actually, being able to feel his soft warn breath tickling her shoulder. She was glad he decided to finally wear the home knitted scarf from last Christmas as it was much warmer than the parker she wore. 

He really didn’t have the right occasion to wear it until now. Thankfully he didn’t forget it as she recalled it was shoved in the back of the closet. It was quite surprising when she first saw him with it this morning with that goofy grin he often had as a teenager.

Marlene was ecstatic to see it on Cloud as well, and being the silly little girl she was, rubbed her face against the soft material,  _ “It’s so fluffy.” _

Tifa did not realize how long they stood there. It was just Cloud and her, and the cheesy lounge music playing in the background, along with the ringing of the cash register from the front entrance.

They broke apart the minute they heard the scampering feet of the kids and Barret’s thundering voice,  **_ “ _ ** **_ Yo _ ** **_ Tifa! Spikey! Come get your hot cholate!” _ **

Next time, Tifa will definitely remember to let Cloud know next time. It felt nice to have his arms around her again.


End file.
